The Dark Lord Potter?
by Xavras
Summary: Post DH, There is a new Dark Lord...Is it Harry, or not? Who could it possibly be? And why would MI-6 need to get involved? Definitely Non-canon. HP/HG, or HP/DG, mystery, conspiracies...
1. Chapter 1 Lord Potter

Harry was in his dress robes. The day had finally come when he had been introduced to the wizarding world as Lord Potter, head of the Noble and most Ancient House of Potter. Harry had been worried for months leading up to this point. Hermione had tried to reassure him that there was really nothing to worry about. The war was over. Harry had defeated Tom Riddle. The magical society in Britain was returning to a sense of normalcy.

Harry and Hermione began to realise that they had feelings for each other after the end of the war. When they were on their camping trip hunting for the Horcruxes, Hermione and Ron had a falling out. Harry began to wonder if during that time that he was falling in love with Hermione. After the war ended he tried to restart his relationship with Ginny, but that went nowhere. Ginny was focusing on a career as a Quidditch player and Harry was preparing for his responsibilities as a Lord. They had been apart for so long and he had grown so close to Hermione that the tensions between Harry and Ginny caused them to break off their relationship.

In the meantime, Harry and Hermione had been growing closer as they had become so accustomed to being around each other. Their relationship was becoming more than just being friends, even if they were trying to deny it to themselves. Everyone around them saw it. Everyone knew it. But Harry understood his obligations in society as a Lord who was now of age. Once this is all over, he kept telling himself, he could finally talk to Hermione about their relationship. The Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly already had published many outrageous stories about his supposed romantic life. He had long stopped worrying about what his friends would think about the stories for those who knew him best knew that it was all fabrication.

So here he was, at the entrance to the Potter Manor, about to host the ball, his ball, welcoming him into the society of Lords and Ladies in magical Britain. He had to personally welcome the important guests into his home. The Noble and Ancient Houses of Abbott, Greengrass, and Bones were all represented. There was no one to represent the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, as the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had yet to rule on Sirius Black's will naming Harry as Heir to the title of Lord Black. The other Houses who had automatic representation on the Wizengamut were all represented. Draco was now Lord Malfoy. Neville was now Lord Longbottom. They all were there, as were all of Harry's friends who did not have any noble lineages.

Harry greeted them all. He and Draco solemnly acknowledged each other in silence as they walked by. Amos Diggory and his wife arrived and were more cordial than they had ever been to Harry since their son had died. Cho Chang and her parents came next. She were wearing the more traditional cheongsam of her family's heritage as opposed to more typical dress robes of the magical world. The Weasley family arrived and they all greeted him warmly. "You really must come by for a meal at the Burrow," insisted Molly. "We haven't seen you in ages. You must be getting thin again."

"I'm fine, really," replied Harry. "But I will take you up on that offer soon, hopefully when all of the formalities quiet down."

Molly gave him a big hug and as she noticed his big smile, she gushed, "Now that's my boy, Harry."

Seamus Finnegan and his family arrived. They were followed by Dean Thomas who had come alone. Luna Lovegood and her father Xenophilius were the next to greet Harry.

There was a slight commotion as the Delacour family arrived with Fleur and Bill Weasley. The beauty of the Delacour women continued to attract attention everywhere they went.

Harry's eyes lit up as he noticed the young witch who was accompanying his former head of house, Minerva McGonagall. Hermione Jean Granger was stunning in her sapphire blue gown. As a muggle born and having no affiliation with any of the Noble Houses, she chose to forgo the formal dress robes of the magical society. Professor McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was attired in her blue and white dress tartan accented with fine yellow lines. Harry wished he could avoid all the pageantry associated with the official duties of this day and just spend time with his closest friends. As he greeted them he knew he held Hermione's hands too long as those in the reception line started to stare and grumble at the hold up. "I'll see you later," whispered Hermione. "Finish all that you need to do, we'll have plenty of time together soon."

Harry resigned himself to attending to all of his duties for the evening. He knew she was right, and he just wanted to get all of the formalities behind him.

/

Hours later he was finally ushering the last of his guests out of the door. He turned to look around at the immense chaos that was left behind and he started to feel a little overwhelmed. He heard a slight pop as his house elf, Charles, appeared in front of him. "Would Lord Harry like anything before retiring for the evening, sir?"

"No, Charles, I'll be fine. I just can't imagine how to deal with all of the mess that we have to clean up." Harry remembered that he had tried to get the Potter family's house elf to stop calling him Lord Potter, but he soon learned that all he could manage was to get the ancient elf to call him Lord Harry. Charles had been serving the Potter family for more generations than Harry could remember.

"Lord Harry still has a guest waiting for him in his study," added the house elf.

Harry smiled as he acknowledged the elf, "I know Charles, I am heading there now." Harry turned and headed to see Hermione. He knew she would be waiting for him. As he was walking into the study he saw her and his eyes lit up. Hermione looked up from where she was sitting as her close friend was entering the room. She noted the fatigue in his eyes. They were both reaching out to hug each other when Harry doubled over in pain. He grabbed the scar on his forehead and screamed.

Hermione gasped. This had never happened since Harry had defeated Tom Riddle. She reached out and took him in her arms. "Oh, Harry," she cried, "how can this be happening?"

Harry's scream of pain died down. He let go of his head and collapsed to his knees. He was so weak from the pain he fell forward into her arms. "Merlin's beard," was all he could manage to whisper.

Hermione cradled him in her arms. "What happened Harry? Is the pain gone? Did you see anything?"

Harry could barely respond. He was recovering form the severe pain and he had been completely unprepared for it to happen. After a minute of deep breaths trying to get his strength back he was able to push himself up into a sitting position and then he looked up at Hermione who was still trying to hold him. "I have no idea what the bloody hell just happened. That was unlike anything I ever experienced when Riddle was alive."

Hermione frowned at this revelation. "Did you have any visions with this?" she asked.

"No, nothing. Just the searing pain," he replied dully.

"Can you get up?" she asked, clearly concerned about how he was doing after the attack on his scar.

"A little help would be great," he said. Hermione gave him a hand. As he managed to get back up on his feet he leaned onto her again. "Head rush," he murmured as he grabbed his scar again.

"I think I better get you up to bed," Hermione commented softly. She put an arm around his waist to help support him as they headed up to his room. She then called out for Charles, who appeared next to them almost immediately.

The usually dignified house elf gasped at the sight of Harry clutching his forehead and obviously not feeling well. "What happened to Lord Harry?"

"I'll be fine Charles," he said weakly. "I must have just overdone it today."

"You are not fine," snapped Hermione. "He had an attack of pain in the scar again, Charles. We need to get him in bed."

There was a sudden pop and Hermione realised that Charles had reached out and grabbed them both and apparated them all to Harry's room.

Harry gave a weak grin and turned to his house elf, "Thank you, although I am quite sure I could have managed on my own."

Hermione pushed him onto the bed as she scolded him. "Will you never change Harry? You always have to do everything for yourself, you never want to let anyone help out."

His eyes sparkled as he watched Hermione start to lecture him. "You know, my love," he said smiling, "you know that I have always wanted to do everything alone, but that I never did anything without you."

Hermione grabbed a pillow off of the bed and threw it at him. "That's for teasing me," she snapped. Then she grabbed a second pillow and threw that one at him as well. "And that's for getting me all worried and upset."

Harry gave her an impish grin and reached out to hug her. Hermione pushed his arms down, leaned forward and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. "And that is all you get tonight. You, Lord Potter," Hermione added, placing too much emphasis on the title, "you need to get some rest. I'll stay in the next room for the night, and then we'll see how you are doing in the morning."

Harry frowned at her refusal to stay with him.

Looking at his pouting expression, Hermione added, "You and I both know you won't get any rest if I stay here, so no. Now get your rest young man."

Harry knew her well enough not to argue with her. He kicked off his clothes onto the floor, resigned to sleeping alone and crawled under his covers after returning his pillows to the head of the bed.


	2. Chapter 2 The Man in Black?

The sun streamed into the windows in the early morning. The brightness of the light bothered Harry as he slowly awoke. He realised he had a splitting headache. He reached up towards his scar and he was startled that he found he had some sort of covering over his head. The scar was still very sore and he quickly decided to stop touching it. As he put his arm down he noted that he had a black sleeve covering his arm. He wrinkled his brow in confusion. He pushed off the covers and went to slide out of bed. He looked back at his bed covers, stunned that he was lying under black silk sheets.

"What in Merlin's name is going on here?" he thought to himself. He tried to remember what happened the night before. He had a vague memory of being tired and heading to bed and not taking his clothes off. That explains the fancy shirt he thought. But he didn't remember having worn such a shirt or even owning anything like it. He stood up on his floor. He noted that the floor of his room was covered in black onyx stone. More confusion over his surroundings led him to shake his head. "That was a mistake," he said to himself as he reached up and grabbed his throbbing forehead. "What the bloody hell happened to me last night," he wondered out loud.

"Did you say something?" came a soft voice from back in his bed.

Harry turned slowly around, unsure of what he would find. He reached to his bedside table, found his glasses and he put them on. He blinked his eyes a few times and they slowly focused on a woman sitting herself up on the other side of his king size bed. He slowly recognised that he was staring at an oriental woman with long straight black hair, wearing a black silk robe with a silhouette of red dragons stitched into the material. She smiled at him slightly as she pushed her hair behind her ear.

"Cho," he said softly, trying to hide the surprise in his voice in seeing her.

"Are you all right, my Lord?" she asked.

"I seem to have a bit of a headache," he said truthfully. He glanced over his head and saw that the bathroom was where he remembered it should be. At least something seemed to be familiar he thought to himself. Then he turned back to face Cho, as he said, "I'll be back in a minute or so."

She smiled sweetly at him, without showing any worry or concern.

Harry turned away and walked into his bathroom. He at least thought it was his bathroom. He didn't remember any of the fancy stonework and mirrors that covered the walls of what was the most ornate en suite he had ever seen. After closing the door behind him he looked at himself in the mirror. He was startled by his reflection. He thought he was looking at the Man In Black from the movie "The Princess Bride," but instead of a mask the black silk hat covered the top of his head only and did not cover his face other than his forehead. He immediately realised that his scar was completely covered by the silk hat and that there was a fancy red letter "P" stitched into the material covering where his scar was. His black silk shirt had large baggy sleeves and his black pants made him look like a pirate. "What the bloody hell is going on?" he asked of no one. Keeping on eye on his reflection he walked up to the sink. He thought of taking off the cap that was tied behind his head, but he decided not to do that considering how much pain he felt when he touched his forehead just a moment ago. Turning on the faucet and grabbing a cloth he washed his face with cold water, hoping that would help him wake up and jog his memory.

Slowly he turned around and scanned the entirety of the bathroom. He could not find any clues to help him figure out just what was going on and he still could not remember why Cho Chang was in his bed. He considered why this seemed so strange to him, and then he tried to figure out if he was expecting someone else to be there with him. No one came to mind.

Harry paced back in forth in front of the sink for several minutes. He was trying to figure out just what was going on, but he just had a major headache and he was still confused. There was a slight knock on the door and he heard Cho call to him. "Is everything all right in there, my Lord?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he lied, hoping she couldn't tell. "I'll be a little bit longer," he added quickly.

"Fine," she said. "I'll just find another place to freshen up. See you downstairs for breakfast then?"

"That sounds great," he called back. He waited a minute and listened to the padding of her feet on the stone floors as she headed out of the room. Slowly he opened the door and he began to investigate his surroundings. He noticed he had a large armoire, and he looked inside. All of the clothes were in black, with only slight variations.

"I don't remember being quite so boring," he thought to himself. He looked around some more and put on fresh silk garments. As he was fastening the belt on his pants he noticed a sword belt hanging over a chair. He walked over for a closer look and he recognised the Sword of Gryffindor. Harry thought it was odd that it was here in his bedroom and then decided to strap it on after he slid on his tall black boots.

As he finished with the sword belt, he heard the sound of his door opening.

"Dashing as always my Lord," blushed Cho as she beckoned him to join her for breakfast.


	3. Chapter 3 Headaches and flashbacks

**A/N: This is a short chapter - more to come**

/

Harry glanced in the mirror at the end of the room and he truly felt he looked like the Dread Pirate Roberts. He was about to reply to Cho when he felt a stabbing pain in his scar. He doubled over and grabbed his head. As he did this he had a vision.

He saw himself with another woman. A very attractive brunette with chocolate eyes who was wiping at his brow. "Hermione," he thought to himself. He tried to concentrate on the images in the vision. He remembered something about a party and speaking with her after the party. He saw a house elf looking at him with concern. The pain slowed and the vision went away. He looked up at Cho who had come to his side and he noted the concerned look on her face.

"My Lord, Harry, are you all right?" she asked.

"Yes, I am quite fine," he said as he stood himself up. He looked around and then he spoke to Cho. "Where are the house elves, don't they need to straighten up the room?"

Cho gave him a puzzled look in response. Then she laughed as she replied, "My Lord you jest! You banished house elves from all of the noble homes and houses, only the lowly half bloods allow them in their homes any more." Cho noted that Harry seemed a little confused. "We'll have one of the slaves sent up to take care of any cleaning. It will be taken care of while we have breakfast. Are you sure that you are okay?"

"I said that I am fine," he said sternly. Harry was trying to process everything that was going on and he quickly decided that he needed to play along as thought there was nothing out of the ordinary. He considered his question about the house elves and he was worried that Cho might suspect there was a problem. As he thought about it he realised that Cho already suspected something to be off, but so far she seemed perfectly willing to accept anything that harry had to say. He knew he was not ready to head anywhere out of his room just yet so he tried to quickly come up with an excuse to delay his leaving the room. "However, now that you mention it," he added as he looked at Cho, "I think that I may have something in this boot. You run on ahead and I will find another pair," he continued as he recalled at least a dozen pairs of boots in the armoire. He gave her a quick smile, which seemed to reassure her. He watched her leave and he headed back to the en suite to wash his face again.

Upon arriving there he experienced another headache. He leaned forward over the sink and splashed cold water onto his face. He was grateful that he did not have another vision this time. He turned and headed back into his bedroom and he noticed a woman had entered and was straightening the bed.

"Hermione?" he asked, surprised to see her.

"Yes, Lord Potter," she gasped with obvious fear in her eyes. "I came as soon as Mistress Chang ordered me to."

"What are you doing?" he asked, surprised by her reaction.

"I was going to make the bed, my Lord," she replied, now averting her eyes and looking at the ground. "I suppose I can change the sheets for you, My Lord."

Harry shook his head and wondered at what was going on. "I see that, Hermione, but why did Cho tell you to do it?"

Hermione looked up at his face, puzzled by his calling her by her first name. She had only been called Granger by him for years. She was shocked by this softer approach. She was fearful that he would lash out at her. "I've been your slave since you ruled that all muggle borns had to give up their wands and serve the pure blood families. You know that. You told me to come here as you personally chose me to work as one of your slaves." Hermione noted the look of confusion on Harry's face.

Harry walked over to a large chair and sat himself down. He stared at her and he felt that something was not right.

"Is there a problem my Lord?" she asked again.

Harry felt a searing and burning pain start in his scar which caused him to black out.


	4. Chapter 4 Defeating Riddle  a new way

Harry remembered walking over to a chair in his room and sitting down. Then the pain started. A burning pain that tore through his scar and made him feel his head was going to explode. Seeing Hermione had started to trigger memories. He felt as though he was going to pass out, then he started to experience new visions. He felt as though he was reliving parts of his life.

He felt a mist envelope him. The mist cleared and he recognised that he was at Shell Cottage. He had just buried Dobby. He had escaped from Malfoy Manor and the group of them were trying to sort out what to do next in their efforts to destroy the Horcruxes. As he was walking into the cottage, he felt a searing pain in his head. He saw with his eyes that Voldemort was heading to Dumbledore's tomb. Riddle was retrieving the Elder Wand. Voldemort was laughing with excitement at finding the most powerful wand in the world. Harry shook off the vision and he realised that he needed to act and act soon. There had to be a way to deal with this. Immediately he went up to the room where Olivander was staying. He burst into the room.

"Mr. Olivander! I need to understand something about wands," he panted as he was out of breath from running up the stairs. Hermione and Ron had followed him up the stairs as they were worried about why he had run off so fast.

"Bloody hell mate," yelled Ron. "Is someone dying up here?"

"Stuff it Ron," snapped Harry. He looked at Mr. Olivander whose face just showed surprise at the scene unfolding in front of him. "Sir, about wands, they have an owner, a master, is that not right?"

Hermione interrupted, "A wand is wand Harry," she said with a sigh. "I've told you before, that some wands respond better to a witch or wizard based on their own natural strengths."

Harry turned to Hermione, "I know that there is more to it than that." He then faced Mr. Olivander again, "There is more to it than that, isn't there?"

Olivander took a moment to gather his wits after staring open mouthed at the three young people who had just barged into his room, he began to answer Harry slowly. "It is true that a wand chooses its owner. However, the allegiance of a wand to an owner can change."

"What causes a wand to change allegiance?" he asked quickly. "Is it due to a duel? A wizard's duel?"

"That would be a common way," mused the older man. "Although not just any duel will result in the loss of a wand. Competitions are usually not enough to cause a wand to change allegiance. But in a battle, if a wizard is defeated, the wand he or she had been wielding could change allegiance to the winner of that duel."

"Is that the way with the Elder Wand?" he asked.

"The Elder Wand?" Mr. Olivander laughed dismissively. "That is a wand of myth and legend. It is a thing of children's fairy tales. There is no such thing."

Harry's glare tore through the old man's facade. "You don't believe that for a minute. I am sure that you believe there is an all powerful wand, the Elder Wand. You even had an idea where it might be, who had it. I believe that you had secretly hoped to find it."

Olivander sighed. After a deep exhale he looked at Harry, understanding the passion which was driving the young man, he finally responded. "All wand makers know the legend of the Elder Wand and the Deathly Hallows. Many consider it mere myth. But to those of us who have a deeper understanding of wands and wand-lore believe that the Elder Wand exists, or at least it used to exist. There have been no reports of such a wand in decades. As to the rest of the Deathly Hallows, no one really believes they exist."

Harry slowly reached into the bag that Hermione had with her. He withdrew the cloak, his invisibility cloak and showed it to Mr. Olivander. The wand maker raised an eyebrow at the sight of the item. Then Harry pulled out the snitch he captured in his first Quidditch match. "I know that I cannot prove it to you now, but I am convinced that the Resurrection Stone is hidden inside of this snitch."

Olivander looked at the snitch, then at the cloak and then back at Harry. He simply replied, "I see."

"So now, Mr. Olivander, I need to ask you about a wand, possibly the Elder Wand," continued Harry. "If someone was wielding the wand and then they were disarmed by a spell, would the one who disarmed him control the wand?"

"Possibly," mused the white haired man, still in awe of what the young Harry Potter had just shown to him, "As I said before, it would depend on the circumstances of the disarming."

"But if the now unarmed wizard were killed by a different wizard, a third person, who would control the wand now?" Harry's excitement was starting to grow.

"If the one who had disarmed the wizard had obtained control of it, then the one who killed the first man gains nothing," he said simply. He looked at Harry with increased confusion on his face.

"If someone else defeated or disarmed the owner of the wand, even if they did not have the wand in their possession, would the victor now control that want too?" he asked, hoping that he had not lost Mr. Olivander with his convoluted story.

"I think I can see what you are getting at, young man. The victor would possibly control _all_ of the wands that were in the possession of the one whom he had defeated," said the wand maker.

"Could you tell me about this wand?" asked Harry, as he offered the wand which he had taken from Draco Malfoy earlier.

Olivander reached out and grasped the wand lightly. He inspected it closely, using both hands and even waving it slightly in the air. To no one in particular he commented, "ten inches precisely, hawthorn wood, with a unicorn hair core, it is reasonably springy…" His voice trailed off and then he looked up at Harry. "This wand used to belong to Draco Malfoy, I believe."

"What do you mean used to?" questioned Hermione. "Isn't it still Draco's? Harry just took it from him to stop him from hexing us."

Olivander looked at her and sighed at her ignorance. "This wand has changed its allegiance. It is no longer Draco's wand." He handed it back to Harry as he added, "I supposed that this has something to do with the Elder Wand? Never mind, but it seems from the look on your face that I have answered your questions to your satisfaction."

"Yes, sir, thank you sir," said Harry, and then he turned and left the room abruptly and headed outside the cottage again. Hermione and Ron ran after him.

"What the bloody hell was that all about, mate?" exclaimed Ron.

"It all makes sense, I know how I can defeat him now," said Harry, the excitement evident in his eyes.

"What to you mean, Harry?" asked a confused Hermione. "We still have to find the rest of the Horcruxes. We have no idea where to find the last two."

Harry grabbed her by her shoulders. "Don't you see? The other Horcruxes don't matter if I have the Elder Wand!" Harry was nearly jumping up and down with his excitement. "I can end this war with the Wand of Destiny. With that wand I can defeat Riddle and all of his Horcruxes. I will have the Deathly Hallows, I will be the master of death!"

Hermione pushed Harry away from her. "I'm worried about you Harry, I've never seen you like this before."

"Except for when he took the liquid luck," stated Ron.

"Shut up Ron!" Hermione chastised him and then turned back to Harry. "It doesn't make any sense, besides, how are you going to get the Elder Wand, Harry?"

"I'm just going to take it back from Riddle," he said simply. "Then I can use it to destroy him and all of the Horcruxes."

Ron turned back to Hermione, "He's completely nutters, he is."

"I can see that for my self," she snapped at Ron. "Harry, this is getting ridiculous, you're scaring me here."

"It's OK, Hermione, I know I can do this," he said quietly. He leaned forward and gave her a slight kiss on the forehead and then he apparated away.

Harry felt a mist clearing around him. He was now at the edge of the lake at Hogwarts. He was now facing Voldemort and they were next to Dumbledore's tomb. Riddle was clearly shocked to see Harry appear in front of him.

"I knew you would come to me boy," he hissed, "but this is unexpected." Voldemort looked Harry in the eye and then lifted the wand he had just torn from Dumbledore's tomb and pointed it at his rival. "However, I can finish my plans now."

Harry merely held up his left hand and quietly said, "_Accio_ Elder Wand." The wand was ripped from Voldemort's hand as he stared in shock at what had just happened.

Voldemort screamed in rage at this sudden turn of events. Harry raised the wand after he transferred it to his right hand, pointed it at Tom Riddle and shouted "_Avada Kedavra_!"

The green light shot from the wand and hit Voldemort squarely in his chest. There was a thunderous crash. The green light then spread out in several beams. One beam shot to Voldemort's right and hit his snake, Nagini. A second beam shot out form Voldemort and towards Hogwarts Castle. A third beam shot out into the sky, Harry had no idea where that one was heading. A fourth beam shot back at Harry and hit him on the head, burning into his scar. Harry collapsed in pain onto the ground.

A mist shrouded his memories and Harry found himself waking up sitting on the chair in his bedroom. Harry blinked his eyes, slightly confused and he looked at Hermione who was kneeling in front of him, appearing to be checking his pulse. "It worked," he whispers to her.

Hermione scrunched her eyes in confusion. "What worked, My Lord?" she asked.

"The Elder Wand," he said simply. "I defeated Riddle with it. And it destroyed all of the Horcruxes at once." The young woman on her knees in front of him continued to look puzzled. He felt his forearm and he noted he had a wand holster there. He pulled back his sleeve and saw that he had the Elder Wand strapped to his right forearm. Hermione cringed in fear upon seeing the wand.


	5. Chapter 5 Breakfast with the Dark Lord

"What is wrong My Lord?" asked Cho, her voice ringing out from the doorway.

Harry was startled by the question. Quickly he replaced his sleeve over his wand and he stood up and looked at Cho Chang, still wearing her black silk robe.

Cho turned her gaze from Harry to Hermione and immediately she drew her wand. "Is she troubling you my Lord? Should I punish her now?" she asked.

Harry was surprised at this and immediately he stood in front of the kneeling Hermione. "No!" he insisted. "She has done nothing wrong." Harry started to realise how this may have looked and he considered the way that Cho seemed ready to cast the _Crucio_ spell at Hermione, so he immediately added, "She was just helping me get my boots back on. I'm ready to come down to breakfast now."

Harry strode out of the room and noted that Cho did not drop her wand from pointing it at Hermione. He decided not to even turn his gaze back at Hermione and he said simply to Cho, "Leave her be, she has her work to finish up here." With that the two people clothed in black walked out of the bedroom, leaving a terrified Hermione on the floor, more confused than ever.

Sitting at the breakfast table Harry noted that there were no house elves to bring in the food, only several slaves carrying the food in and out of the kitchen. He recalled the comment that Cho had made earlier and he thought it would be best for him not to say anything at all at this time. His world was very confusing, and he did not want anyone to know that he was having difficulty remembering anything. And everyone seemed afraid of him, which while being disconcerting, allowed him some time to try and sort everything out.

He was just about to tuck in and start enjoying his breakfast when there was a commotion in the hall. Harry turned and looked to his left to see someone held in a magical bond and being levitated into the room. Harry also noted, with displeasure that there were screams of pain coming from the individual who was being held captive. Harry turned to stand up and face whoever was bringing in this apparent prisoner. He was shocked when he noted that the black robed witch with long and unruly black hair was Bellatrix LeStrange.

Immediately Harry pushed his chair back and had his wand in his hand and pointed at Bellatrix. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

Bellatrix was taken aback by Harry's outburst. She faltered slightly with her wand and the man who was screaming nearly fell. She adjusted her wrist and the man was again levitated to a height of about six feet above the floor. "My Lord Potter, I am sorry to disturb you during your breakfast, but I have caught the outlaw Weasley you tasked me to find and I thought that you would be pleased to have him brought before you. Please pardon your servant's error if this is not what you had desired." Bellatrix lowered her eyes from his gaze.

Harry was not expecting such a response. He was finding that everything going on was very unsettling. He recognised the name Weasley, but he had no idea why one of them would be an outlaw, and he had definitely been taken aback by Bellatrix Lestrange's behaviour. His scar started to ache. He lifted his left hand to his forehead.

Cho who was watching him closely stood up and went to his side. She turned to Bellatrix and said softly, "The Lord Potter has been afflicted with headaches, it may be making him more edgy, so you best be warned now so as not to incite his wrath."

Harry shook his head and looked at Cho and tried to mask his continued surprise from anyone who was present.

Bellatrix bowed her head towards Harry as she spoke softly, "I apologise my Lord, I did not know." Then she glared at Cho and turned back to Harry. "If it pleases my Lord, would you like me to release the outlaw for your merriment now or should I keep him in the Cruciatus Imprisonment a little longer?"

"You may release him now," said Harry, not wanting whoever it was to suffer any longer.

"As you wish," cackled Bellatrix as she released her spell and the body of a tall red headed man fell to the floor with a loud thud.

"Bloody hell," grunted the man.

Harry knew the voice. He stared at the body in disbelief. The slowly Ron Weasley stood himself up. He eyed Harry warily and looked from Cho to Bellatrix and then back at Harry.

For his part, Harry was still in shock to see him.

"Didn't expect to see me again, did you?" spat Ron. "I've been enough of a pain in your side that you finally sent your number one lackey to get me. Why? You afraid to come after me yourself?"

Harry continued to be shocked by the entire encounter but he was afraid to let any of his own confusion show. His forehead ached as he recalled that Ron was once his best mate.

Ron stopped yelling and was not expecting a silent stare from the new Dark Lord, Harry Potter. Ron looked around the room again for any sign of what was to happen next. "So, you caught me, you brought me here. Now what are you going to do with me?"

Harry rubbed his forehead again and continued to say nothing.

"Do you really want to give it a go with Lord Potter?" asked Bellatrix with a maniacal laugh.

Ron returned her look with an icy stare. "And just how am I supposed to do that when you took my wand?" He stopped himself from calling her any of the various names he felt would describe her accurately.

She laughed at him again and pulled out his wand and spun it around the fingers on her left hand. With a wink towards Harry she tossed the wand to Ron as she said, "It'll be your funeral!"

Ron could not believe that he was being given his wand back. In the instance that his wand was travelling in the air to his hand he made a quick decision. He figured he would never leave the Potter House alive and that he would have only once chance at this. As he reached for his wand he dove to his side and rolled as he shouted "_Avada Kedavra_" while pointing his wand right at Harry's chest. The flash of green light that emanated from the tip of his wanted nearly reached Harry and then was absorbed in what appeared to be an invisible shield around Harry.

Cho had pulled her wand and aimed it at Ron as she yelled "_Crucio_!"

Bellatrix looked on in shock. She had fully expected the killing curse to rebound off of Harry and kill the man who had dared to cast it at her lord.

Harry yelled out, "_Expelliarmus_!" He reached his hand out as he grabbed all three wands that he had removed from the others in the room.


	6. Chapter 6 The Scar, and more visions

Harry felt the pain in his scar begin to crescendo. He looked around the room the three wand-less and defenceless people. As his headache grew he threw the wands onto the table where he had been eating. Then he shouted at all of them, "Get out!" He looked at the three of them who were all motionless. "I told you to get out and I meant it. Do it now!" He waved his wand around the room.

Bellatrix grabbed Ron by the back of his neck and snarled at him. "You heard the master, we're getting out of here and you're coming with me."

Cho had a pained look in her eye. "My Lord, let me soothe your pain with the cream we need to apply to help the wound heal."

Harry thought about the offer for a moment and decided he would have nothing to do with it. "I meant it when I said for _everyone_ to get out." His voice was quiet, he had stopped shouting. Cho was visibly shaken with fear. Immediately she ran out of the room.

Harry found himself alone at the table and he slunk into his chair. He cupped his forehead in is hands as he experienced the pain increase in his scar once more.

He had a vision again. This time he saw a pile of gold and silver objects all around him. He was with Hermione and Ron. The objects were burning their skin. He had the Sword of Gryffindor in his hand and he had hooked a small silver cup over the end of it. The vision faded abruptly. The pain was starting to ease and then it came back again full force. This time it was accompanied by a different vision. He was flying on a broom in the room of requirement, he was with Draco Malfoy and they were being chased by fire. Then the mist surrounded him once more. As the mist began to clear he noticed he was back in his manor. Cho Chang had rubbed his scar. He felt a brief but sudden pain that was unlike anything he had ever experienced. He heard her mumble something, was it a spell he wondered. And then he was walking away from her feeling confused and very, very tired. The white mist gathered around him again. He then started to feel faint. Harry willed himself to remain conscious and he felt the searing pain in his scar begin to subside.

"What the bloody hell was that," he said to himself. He did not realise he had spoken out loud until he heard a meek voice respond.

"What was what, your Lordship?" asked a quiet and trembling Hermione Granger. Harry opened his eyes to see the woman standing at the side of the table picking up plates from the meal that had just been interrupted.

"It was nothing," he said simply. Harry then looked up at Hermione and saw genuine concern on her face. He broke the silence. "I had a vision, a waking dream," he said softly. She did not respond but continued to look at him. "You were in the vision. You were there. But I do not remember it all properly." Harry sighed to release all of the pain and anguish and frustration from the events of the day. He felt lost and confused about what was going on around him. He looked back at this slave who was still standing at the table and staring at him. She did not seem to be afraid of him.

"My Lord," she spoke softly, "you are not well. Is there something I can do for you?"

"No, there is not," he said abruptly. His forehead started to throb again. He leaned forward and cupped his head.

"My Lord, please let me help you," pleaded Hermione. She bravely started to approach Harry, no longer being fearful of the repercussions of her actions. She was not sure herself why she would dare to do this when she knew he could be fierce and full of wrath without even a moments notice. But she knew there was something odd going on today.

When she was standing by his side, she tentatively reached out towards him. "My Lord, please let me examine the scar. Please allow me to remove the scarf from your head."

He was surprised to see that she was standing at his side. The pain was building and he was not sure what to make of it. Finally, he relented to her request. Carefully Hermione removed the black silk from his head. She gasped when she saw that his scar was actively bleeding. She also noted that there was some sort of ointment on his forehead.

"Get away from him!" screamed Cho as she returned to the room. Hermione dropped the black headpiece and stepped back. Cho summoned her wand form the middle of the table and aimed it at Hermione. Cho then approached Harry and saw the wound. She turned to Hermione and screamed at her. "How dare you do this? I'll make you suffer for hurting him! Can't you see that he is injured? He needs my ointment to help this heal. Get away and leave him alone or I will curse you into next week!" Cho sent a stinging hex at Hermione who let out a slight yelp as she backed her way out of the room.

Cho reached into a pocket in the side of her robe. She pulled out a tube of ointment. As she opened the tube Harry noted that the smell was quite horrid. Cho quickly began to rub the ointment into his forehead. Harry was hoping for some relief from his pain but he was suddenly experiencing a more intense searing and burning pain in his scar as he started to feel the mist surround him again.

He was walking through the halls of his manor. It was almost empty. There seemed to have been a large party. Charles, his house elf, was talking to him about remaining guests. Harry heard himself tell Charles that he would see to the final guests himself. He turned a corner and bumped into someone. At first Harry did not see who he bumped into. Then he recognised the long dark hair. It was Cho. Harry noted that she had dropped something. He went to pick it up for her and they bumped heads as they had both reached for the item at the same time. Cho reached out and wiped his forehead. "I hope I didn't hurt you, are you sure you'll be all right?" she asked.

"Of course I'll be all right," he replied with a smile. Then he saw Cho reach out again and rub his forehead another time. "I just really want to be sure that you are okay," she added.

Harry put his hand to his forehead as he noted there was something sticky there. Immediately Cho pulled his arm away. "Leave it alone," she chided, "you will be fine, just leave it be. It's only your scar that no one needs to see anymore."

Harry nodded feeling a little light headed. "Sure, I will be just fine, I'll leave it alone." He smiled at Cho as they both stood up. He wondered why he had bent over in the first place. Then he noticed there was a mist surrounding him.

The pain was still there and Harry realised that he felt someone rubbing his forehead. Instinctively he reached up and grabbed the wrist of whoever was touching him.

"My Lord, this is to help you," said Cho softly.

Harry did not release her arm. "No, it is only causing me more pain."

Cho protested, "But my Lord, this ointment will take away the pain."

Harry looked her in the eye, searching for some sort of indication for what might be going on. She was imploring him with her eyes.

After a minute he squeezed her wrist tighter, and added sternly, "I said 'No', which part of that do you not seem to understand?" He did not wait for a reply and then he pushed her away.

He got up from the table and decided to head back to his room.


	7. Chapter 7 The Dark Lord vs Hermione

Harry arrived in his bedroom, his scar was burning with pain. He collapsed to his knees as he felt another vision coming on. In his mind he saw a large white dragon in the middle of what appeared to be a dungeon of some sort. Or was it a vault? Harry was unsure as his forehead burned with pain. He noticed that he was with Ron and Hermione, they were yelling about needing to jump onto the back of the dragon. As he ran towards the dragon he was enveloped in a white mist again.

Harry found himself on his knees in front of his sink again. Why do these strange and foreign thoughts seem so familiar but also so distant, he wondered. He pulled himself up to stand in front of the sink and grabbed a washcloth and then washed his face with cold water. The stinging in his scar abated slightly. The cold was refreshing, like landing in a cold lake when his skin was burning. "Where did that thought come from?" he pondered.

He looked up at his image in the mirror and saw the bleeding and burning scar. His eyes caught the glimpse of something else in the mirror. It was a woman's face. Harry spun around and looked at his slave; no, his _friend_.

"'Mione, is that really you?" he questioned softly.

The sting on the side of his face from her slap surprised him. He had noticed her hand moving towards him. He knew he had the reflexes to stop her, but he just let her hand fly to his face.

"_You_ do not deserve to call me that," she snapped at him with all the bitterness in her soul.

He lifted his eyes to look at hers. She was crying.

"Do you remember?" he asked softly, keeping his eyes fixed on her.

"I remember the times before you left Shell Cottage," she replied, venom dripping with her tone.

"But I didn't leave," he said. He noted her quizzical look and then he continued. "I didn't leave without you and Ron, or was it Bellatrix?" He paused and she noted the confusion on his face. "Why can't I remember things clearly?"

The pain in the scar came back. His head felt like it was going to explode and he dropped to his knees again.

He did not lose consciousness despite the severe pain. He could sense Hermione coming closer, as she grabbed the cloth and wiped his forehead. He could tell he was bleeding more from his scar. He looked up into Hermione's eyes and saw her concern. But he saw something more. He could not understand the emotion he was seeing on her face. He reached to grab the countertop surrounding the sink in an effort to pull himself back up, but the pain prevented him from further movement. With his right hand he reached to his forehead once again, and he thought he could feel something hard in the midst of his scar. The pain rose and all he could see was blood covering his hand as he let it fall.

The white mist was clearing around him and he saw that he was standing in the middle of the Great Hall in Hogwarts. There had been a battle. There were injured and even dead all around. He had a wand in his hand. He remembered duelling with the Dark Lord after Voldemort had already killed him in the Forbidden Forest. No, that's not how it happened. He killed Voldemort with the Elder Wand by the lake and he was all alone. Or did it really happen how he was recalling it now, within the school. He noticed that Ron and Hermione were running towards him. The pain in his scar was building once again and the white mist surrounded him. He heard nothing as everything faded to black.

The pain was worse than ever, and he heard her voice, softly calling his name. He has collapsed to his knees again and now he was leaning on his left hand. He looked up and saw tears streaming down Hermione's face. Softly she spoke to him again. "I am sorry Harry but I have to do this," she whispered. Harry noticed a flash of silver as her hand moved quickly from behind her back.

"What are you doing?" screamed Cho who had appeared at the door to the en-suite. She had her wander pointed at Hermione and the red beam of light of the _cruciatus_ curse hit her in the back. Harry heard the sound of metal hitting the floor as Hermione was thrown into him. Harry reflexively raised his right arm and his wand was launched from its holster into his hand. "_Stupefy_!"

Cho was thrown backwards by the power of the spell and collapsed onto the floor of the bedroom after crashing into a mirror.

Harry looked down at Hermione who was pulling herself back to her feet. The pain in his scar was still there and he dropped his wand. He felt numb as he watched Hermione reach for the knife she had dropped and then in one swift motion she raised it towards him.

"Go ahead," he said stoically. "I'm ready for what I deserve." He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the pain in his scar as he anticipated the thrust of the knife.

He felt nothing.

He heard nothing.

He considered that perhaps she wanted him to watch what she was going to do. He opened his eyes and looked back at Hermione. He noticed the tears on her face still. Softly she said, "Hold still, this should be over in a moment."

"I'm sure it will be," he said trying to be brave and accept what was coming.

Hermione reached out her left hand and tenderly caressed his cheek. Slowly she raised the knife with her right hand and pressed the tip against his scar. He felt a slight sharp pain, but the burning agony suddenly seemed to stop. He noted a small gem fall in front of his eyes. He looked towards Hermione and his whole world went black.


	8. Chapter 8 Waking up

Harry could sense that he was in his bed, or at least he was in a bed. His head ached, but the scar was not painful at all. He could hear voices talking softly. He also felt he was incredibly fatigued. At first he had no idea who was talking and he was not sure if he wanted to know where he was. He was confused, exhausted, and angry. Harry was trying to piece together what had been happening and he concluded that he had the most dreadful series of dreams or visions and he definitely did not want to repeat any of them.

He started listening to who was talking. Was that Professor McGonagall? Who was she talking to, he wondered. Harry concluded that he was waking up from a horrible sleep, but he didn't want anyone to know that he was awake yet. So he listened to the conversation as he feigned sleep.

"You did the right thing in calling me here, Miss Granger," comforted Minerva McGonagall.

"I didn't want the news of what happened to Harry to get out, I couldn't call anyone else," pleaded an obviously exhausted Hermione. "I don't trust anyone from St. Mungo's to be able to keep this whole mess quiet, Harry does not need any publicity."

"Of course he doesn't," agreed the Headmistress of Hogwarts School. "I have already summoned Professor Flitwick, so he can help us undo any remaining affects of the charms that were cast. And perhaps tell us more about what must have happened." She sighed as she gave Hermione another hug.

"Would you two quiet down," hushed Madame Pomfrey. "While I don't usually make house calls, I am not upset that you called me, but I must insist that you let the patient rest."

Harry was more sure at this statement that he was at least waking up in the world he knew, or the world he thought was where he belonged. Tentatively he slightly opened one eye. His bed linens were white sheets with a comforter that was clearly Gryffindor red in colour. He was relieved that he was not lying in black silk sheets.

"His magical core is drained," added the healer from Hogwarts. "If what you say is true, Miss Granger, that he was sleeping all night, that must have been some powerful charms and magics that he was fighting. His core is nearly empty. I have never seen anything like this, but then, considering who the patient is I can't really say that I'm at all surprised."

There was a knock on the door to the bedroom, followed by the voice of Charles, the senior house elf for the manor, "Professor Flitwick has arrived, he will be with you momentarily."

The soft sound of footsteps entering the room was followed by the warm greetings between everyone who was not lying down on the bed. Harry thought about sitting up and greeting everyone but he discovered he had no strength to move whatsoever, so he decided to just lay back and listen.

Hermione turned and faced Harry, "I think he tried to move!" she exclaimed and she ran to the bed side and grasped his right hand.

Upon feeling her squeeze his hand Harry managed to find the strength to open his eyes, but he was shocked to find that he could not do anything more. Harry tried to move his arms or his legs, but nothing happened. He couldn't even lift his head off of the pillows he was lying on. His eyes revealed the panic as he tried to comprehend what was happening to him.

Madame Pomfrey was leaning over him and waving a wand from his head to his toes. "It will be all right, Mr. Potter, or should I say Lord Potter," she corrected herself. "You will be fine, eventually, but you are so weakened by the struggle you had through out the night that you have no physical strength to move. When you have a little more strength, we will give you a bite of chocolate."

The fear subsided from his eyes which he then turned to look at Hermione. His head ached more with just the slight exertion he needed to use to turn his gaze upon her. He tried to smile. He felt more pain, but it was worth it when he saw the smile it brought to Hermione's face. She squeezed his hand a little tighter.

Hermione took her eyes off of her love and turned to Professor Flitwick. "Professor, can you help us understand what happened last night?"

The diminutive professor furrowed his brow, looked around the room, and answered with a question of his own, "Could you please tell me as much as you can about what has happened?" Minerva and Hermione started to answer all at once and he held up his hands to indicate for them to stop. "One at a time, please," he said calmly. "Miss Granger, I believe that you have the most understanding about what has happened. Please, start at the beginning of everything you know."

"Well, I found him in his bathroom this morning," she began, but was cut off by her former Charms professor.

"No, not when you first found him this morning," he chided softly. "Were you not the last one to see him last night? What happened then?"

Hermione blushed slightly. "I was here as the party was ending. I waited in his study for the rest of the guests to leave, and when they had Harry came to meet me there. He seemed more fatigued than usual, more than I expected he would even with hosting the whole event yesterday. When he arrived at the study he doubled over in pain, he said his scar was burning."

Minerva McGonagall gasped. "But that hasn't been a problem since he defeated You Know Who."

Hermione sighed and corrected her beloved professor, "He has a name, Riddle. Tom Riddle. But as I was saying, Harry was drained after the attack of pain, and Charles, his house elf, brought us to the bedroom. Then I put him to bed for the night and I went to use the guest room down the hall."

Professor McGonagall blushed slightly at the thought of her former students possibly sleeping together.

Hermione continued, "I heard nothing else until there was a thud this morning. I came in to his room and I found him collapsed on the floor in the bathroom, his scar was bleeding, and there was a small blood red gemstone on the floor."

Flitwick raised an eyebrow. "Had anyone touched the stone?" he asked anxiously.

"No," replied Hermione. "I left it there on the floor. I called for Charles to help get Harry back in bed. He was too weak to move on is own. After we got him in bed I noted that there was a broken mirror on the wall here in the bedroom," she tilted her head to indicate the broken glass on the wall.

Professor Flitwick walked over to the broken mirror and he looked from there to the bathroom. The Charms professor then turned to speak to Hermione. "Did he have his wand with him?"

"No, he had nothing with him," she answered feeling confused. "Why do you ask?"

"This mirror was hit by a reducto or stupefy spell. If it was cast by Harry, then he performed wand-less magic."

Minerva and Poppy were startled by the comment. Professor Flitwick's eyebrows raised as he continued. "And he did it with his magical core nearly being wiped out already," he added.

He entered the bathroom and inspected the gem on the floor. He retrieved his wand and waved it over the gem. After several moments in silence he frowned as he stood up. He looked at Hermione with great concern. "It is very good for you, young lady, that you did not touch the stone. It is very dark magic indeed."

Minerva gasped out loud and went over to Hermione to hug her shoulders. "What kind of stone is it?" she asked before Hermione managed to say anything further.

"It is a stone imbued with false memories. With the proper enchantments it can cause the individual with whom it is in contact to believe that the memories are true."

"But how did the stone get here?" asked McGonagall.

"It fell out of his scar," commented Hermione.

"Well, that would explain the wound on his forehead," added Poppy. She looked back at Harry's scar on his forehead, "But it is healing quickly, the old scar appears more like it always has. The boy's recovery from injuries never ceases to amaze me."

"He is not a boy any longer," said Hermione, still holding Harry's hand. "With everything he has done, he is definitely not a boy." She turned and smiled at Harry. Then she felt him squeeze her hand.

"Very well," commented the headmistress. "I suppose we ought to have either the Aurors or the Department of Magical Mysteries come and deal with the stone."

"The Aurors should be notified," agreed Hermione. "But still, how did the stone get into his scar?"

"There is evidence of an enchantment, an ointment, on Harry's skin," said Madame Pomfrey. "It appears to have been mostly washed off, but I think that the ointment was designed to amplify the effects of the stone."

Harry raised an eyebrow as he listened to the healer who had taken care of him too many times when he was a student at Hogwarts. This gesture did not go unnoticed by Hermione who turned to look at him. "What is it, dear?" she asked, then she blushed after using the endearment out loud. Hermione and Harry had been trying to keep their growing relationship private, but with the events of the previous night and now this morning, she resigned herself to the fact that all those in this room were smart enough to make the simple deductions that would explain her presence.

He waited for her to lean close, and then he spoke softly.

He said one word to her.

"Cho."

**A/N: This is all for now…..I may write more to this story if the time allows, if there is interest in this continuing, and/or I find the right story line to continue this…..I will need beta reader(s) for any continuation  
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	9. Chapter 9 Meeting with the Minister

**A/N: I have decided to work on this some more - continue the story/adventure...it may not be coming along quickly, but it will continue...**

"Did you just say Cho?" asked Professor McGonagall.

Hermione looked back and forth between her former professor and the man she loved. "What about Cho?" she asked as her face was covered with confusion.

"It must have been her," he said softly, still feeling too weak to hardly even move. "She touched my scar at one point last night, I didn't think anything of it at the time. And I think she was still here after everyone left."

Hermione was shocked at this announcement. "But how can that be. You told me to wait for you in your study until Charles had assured you that all of you guests had left." Hermione frowned as she tried to solve this puzzle on her own. "But what out Cho? Just how is she involved in any of this?" she mused.

"She was in my dreams, or visions. They seemed so real," added Harry as he tried to push himself up to a sitting position.

"No, Lord Potter, you need you rest," instructed Madame Pomfrey. "You need to lie down, you just don't have the strength."

Harry shrugged off her help and he continued to sit up. "I am really starting to feel much better already," he said quietly but firmly. The headmistress gave him a glare that silently told him to lie down and follow the instructions of the healer. Minerva was shocked when Harry refused to comply with her request as he gave a quick shake of his head to tell her that he would not do that.

Madame Pomfrey, for her part, was used to Harry's stubbornness, sighed and picked up her wand and examined him again. She gasped as she realised the reading. "His magical core is already back to over half his usual strength!" She reached into the bag she had brought with her as she added, "Here, eat this piece of chocolate. It should help." She continued to be surprised by this patient repeatedly. "Well, it is usually helpful to most wizards when they are recovering from such a shock to their magical core."

Minerva McGonagall cast a concerned eye on her former student. "Well, Mr. Potter, you seem to have not given up on your previous ways of getting yourself into a fix even though you are no longer a student." She rolled her eyes at his expression of innocence on his face and she continued, "But could you enlighten us about what happened?"

"I think the easiest way to explain what happened would be to show you my memories of the dreams," he said with a glance at Hermione. "I don't think I believe them all myself and I have no idea how they were able to happen. They felt so real."

"Of course they did," added Professor Flitwick. "That was the purpose of the stone. If I am correct in my assumptions, the memories that were being released into your mind in combination with the charmed ointment would have eventually supplanted your own true memories and you would have acted on them as though they were real."

A noticeable shiver ran through Harry at that thought. "Maybe sharing them is not such a good idea after all," he said quietly.

Hermione gave him a worried look. "Harry, you've been through a lot when you were fighting Riddle for all of those years, I've been there with you for almost everything, how could this be worse."

Harry did not respond to her question. She reached out and took his hands in hers and tried to give him a smile to reassure him that things would be okay. Hermione was surprised when Harry looked away and refused to look at her.

"Harry James Potter," she said sternly but quietly, "just a minute ago you wanted to share those memories. Now you refuse? What is wrong?"

She noted a tear on his cheek. She waited for a response. She tried to get his attention with a gentle squeeze of his hands.

Finally he turned to look her in the eyes, "When I believed that it was just someone giving me a bad dream, I thought I could reveal to you what happened. When it became clear from what Professor Flitwick had said that someone was trying to force those onto me as memories, to make me think I did those things, to make me live that way…" His voice trailed off. After a minute of silence he continued. "I would rather have been killed by Voldemort than have to live that life, to have done those things."

The words made Hermione and the professors cringe. Hermione refused to let go of his hands as she studied his face. His tone was more somber than before he went into the forbidden forest to die and then to fight Voldemort. She could not begin to fathom what it was that he had seen.

"Lord Potter," said a very flustered headmistress, "I mean, Harry, I think that if the images are that disturbing that they definitely need to be seen, but perhaps only by one of the Aurors.

Hermione was frightened and tried to hold back her own tears. The mere fact of not knowing what was upsetting Harry so much was becoming too much to handle. "Can you tell us anything about what it was about? In general terms?" she asked. Hermione's curiosity as to what could possibly be making him so upset kept her from remaining quiet.

Harry opened his mouth and closed it. He then looked up at Hermione and stared into her eyes for a minute, searching for a sign of hope and caring, which he saw. But still he hesitated, as he was afraid how they would react to his statement. "No, I can't say it. Not yet anyways. It is too disturbing." He looked down at his feet to avoid her gaze.

Hermione looked towards Minerva McGonagall, hopeing that the headmistress would be able to offer some advice. Minerva looked back and tried to convey her own empathy for the situation, but she was not sure herself what action should be taken at this time.

Flitwick spoke up and announced, "I think I should summon Kingsley, he may be most useful in examining this stone." The diminutive professor than gave a slight bow and turned to leave the room. He headed down to the main hall to send a message to the Minister for Magic.

McGonagall then turned to Madame Pomfrey as she took her by the arm, "Come on Poppy, let's see if there is anything we can get for these two for breakfast." Initially the healer was going to protest, but when she saw the look in the Headmistress' eyes she quietly replied, "Oh, right, that does sound like a good idea."

When the two young people were finally alone Hermione sat down next to Harry. As she put her arm across his shoulders he turned and looked at her. Softly he spoke to her, "Please, I need some time, I am not trying to push you away. It was just so…disturbing."

Hermione put her head on his shoulder. They sat there in silence for a moment. Hermione then spoke in a whisper, "I know it must have been hard on you, whatever it was. But you have been through so much, I just wish I could take away your pain. Last night was supposed to be the beginning of your new life without the battles and the fighting, and now that all seems to have been ruined."

Harry turned his head to look at her.

Hermione continued, "I have seen you suffer so much, I just wish there was away I could keep it all away, so you could enjoy your life. You deserve so much more than this."

"I don't think I deserve anything," he replied flatly. "All I really want is to have a quiet life, with you by my side. Is that too much to ask?"

Hermione's eyes filled with tears. "No, it isn't, it shouldn't be too much at all."

It was not long before breakfast was brought up to their room. Shortly after they finishedeating Kingsley Shacklebolt arrived. By this time the group had relocated to Harry's study, as they felt the main hall was too large for this meeting and the bedroom was too awkward. Upon the arrival of the Minister for Magic, Charles, the senior house elf, brought out a service of tea and biscuits for everyone who was present.

Kingsley greeted Harry with a big hug. "Lord Potter," he said with a smile indicating he was having fun with Harry's new title, "what could be so distressing that you need the services of the Minister for Magic? Professor Flitwick told me it was urgent and that I would need to bring someone from the Aurors Office and perhaps someone from the Department of Mysteries. They will be here shortly, but I felt it was important for me to hear from you just what the problem is and how I can help."

Harry looked around the room at those who had gathered, and they all looked back to him to begin to explain the events of last night. "It seems that Hermione found me collapsed in my bathroom this morning, after I had been having visions during the night. Hermione summoned the Headmistress and Madame Pomfrey for help, and they in turn summoned Professor Flitwick because of his expertise in charms. He discovered the blood gem which had apparently been inserted into the scar in my forehead. As I understand his explanation, it was designed to implant false memories into my mind and create an alternate reality which I would eventually be convinced was the real world."

Shacklebolt frowned at this story. "This is most concerning, Harry. Do you have any idea who would do this and why? Can you tell us anything about this alternate world which you found yourself in? Were you still fighting Voldemort?"

Harry realised that he would have to answer some of these questions. He looked to Hermione for some emotional support. She acknowledged his need and said, "I know it won't be easy to tell everyone, but it will help with the investigation."

Harry nodded to her and hoped that she would not be upset as he had refused to tell her earlier when they were alone. Harry then looked at the group and he began to answer the Minister slowly.

"In the dreams I saw how I had defeated Riddle. It was not in the same way that we had done it before." Harry paused as it was difficult for him to recount the events to the others. "I found a different way to defeat him. But it ended up with a new problem. There was a new Dark Lord."

The professors gasped, Kingsley seemed slightly shaken, and Hermione looked away.

Professor McGonagall spoke up, "Who was this new Dark Lord? Did you see him? Was it one of the Death Eaters? One of his followers?"

With tears in his eyes he looked at the Headmistress as he answered, "No. It was me."


	10. Chapter 10 You call that a promotion?

There was a loud crash as several tea cups dropped to floor simultaneously at Harry's pronouncement.

Kingsley merely raised an eyebrow at the young Lord's statement. Hermione, however, after dropping her cup of tea was holding her hands in front of her mouth which was hanging open.

Harry looked at each person standing or sitting in the study. They all seemed appalled, expect for Kingsley who appeared to be simply perplexed. The silence was broken when the Minister turned to Professor Flitwick. "This blood stone gem, where is it?"

"Why, I do believe that it is still on the floor up in the bathroom," he said tentatively. "I only inspected it with my wand, and as it clearly had some very strong and very dark enchantments, I knew better than to handle it myself."

"That was very wise of you, my friend," praised Shacklebolt. "Obviously we need to begin this investigation immediately." He turned to Harry who seemed to be slowly building a quiet anger. The minister assumed it was due to his frustration with someone trying to control him, again. "I will call in the head of the Aurors," he started to say and then was interrupted by Harry.

"You're sending for my boss?" said Harry, somewhat surprised. "Why does Robards need to be involved?"

Kingsley was surprised by Harry's apparent objection to involving the chief of the Aurors office. "Harry, you cannot be involved with your own investigation. And I personally want Gawain to get his top people involved with this immediately. And I will also be calling the Department of Mysteries to begin a study of this gem."

"Is it really necessary?" Harry asked. "We don't have to make this big of a deal about the whole mess."

Minerva McGonagall looked at Harry. He noted the stern face he so often saw when he was a student at Hogwarts and he was being reprimanded for some outlandish behaviour. "Now you listen here, Mister Potter, these are serious crimes that have been committed. You may have only been an Auror for a few months now, but I know that you understand the gravity of the situation all too well."

Harry nodded quietly to the headmistress, accepting her comments as though he was a young boy being scolded by his mother. He knew that McGonagall was always fair and just with him and that she always cared for his well being even when others did not.

Shacklebolt turned and cast a quick patronus charm, and his lynx scampered out of the room. Harry knew that Gawain Robards wold be here shortly, as would Blandon, the current head of the Department of Magical Mysteries.

Kingsley turned back to Harry and took the time to personally address Harry's brief protestation from a minute ago. "Harry, Minerva is quite right, this is a terribly concerning issue. It must have been powerful magic to be able to place the charms in this house with all of its defensive wards, not to mention to be able to place that gem within your scar. If it was Cho Chang who accomplished that, or any part of this plan, she could not have acted alone. Someone or some group is going to great lengths to try and attack you and take over your mind."

Hermione remained silent, still holding her hands over her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. Harry noticed Hermione's continued reaction and looked away.

The Minister continued, "Professor Flitwick, why don't you show me this stone, we can have Charles show Robards and Blandon upstairs as soon as they arrive." Turning back to Harry, he added, "Why don't you just stay here for now, I would like to talk with you some more once we've had a chance to investigate this all a little more."

Harry was about to protest, but McGonagall silently put a hand on his shoulder to keep him in his seat.

/

Upstairs in the master bedroom, Kingsley Shacklebolt was examining the evidence of the night's events. On either side of him stood Gawain Robards, the head of the Aurors, and Maurice Blandon, the head of the Department of Mysteries. Professor Flitwick had shown them the broken mirror that had been shattered by a wand-less curse, which they presumed had been cast by Harry while he was experiencing his visions. Then they moved to the en suite, where the gem was still lying on the floor.

Shacklebolt asked Blandon to exam the stone. Silently he removed his wand and waved it over the gem several times. A deep frown crossed his face. Then he turned to Flitwick, "Could you procure some parchment or something of the sort?" The charms professor immediately turned and headed down stairs to find some parchment. He returned after a brief moment with a small piece of blank parchment.

"Planning on taking notes on that?" joked Robards.

Blandon did not respond other than raising an eyebrow at him silently. Then, with a quick flick of his wand a box appeared in Blandon's hand, which he then offered to the Auror, "Could you hold that for me, Gawain? Or are you to busy taking notes?"

The shocked Auror quickly took the box in his hands.

"You may open it," said the Unspeakable dryly, "as it is currently empty."

Blandon kept his eye on Robards as he removed the lid from the top of the small box.

"Thank you, sir," he added. "Now hold it steady for a moment, would you please?"

Blandon then knelt next to the gem and carefully slid the parchment underneath the stone. He then used a levitation spell on the parchment, and raised the stone into the air. Turning to look back at Gawain, he spoke softly, "Whatever you do, do not let the box shake as I place the stone inside of it. Using magic to move the stone or merely touching the stone with your hand could have," he paused as he searched for the right words, "shall we say, most unpleasant consequences."

The Auror's hands began to shake noticeably at the comment. The Unspeakable glared at him and snidely added, "Please just hold the box still for a moment." The shaking slowed and then Blandon moved the parchment closer to the box. He carefully tilted the parchment as the gem began to slide into the box. Upon the stone hitting the bottom of the box Robards let out a loud sigh of relief.

"You can put the lid back on the box now," added Blandon.

The others watched the entire scene unfold before them in silence. Blandon noted the awed expressions on their faces and he decided to explain what he knew of the situation. "The magic on that stone is quite unique and quite different from any other dark objects we have seen. The size of the stone belies the dangers that are hidden within. It also may very well have some defences built into it that could be catastrophic if anyone touched it or attempted to manipulate it with magic." Turning to Flitwick he added, "It was very wise of you, my good man, to have decided not to touch the stone in anyway. As you can see, even I did not dare lift the stone directly but only lift it by placing another object underneath it."

"But could you not have just picked up the parchment?" asked Robards who was decidedly more calm now that the stone was safely within the box that Blandon had transfigured.

Blandon narrowed his eyes at the Auror. "And risk the stone sliding and touching my hand? I have spent too any years working int he Department of Mysteries so as to be so fool hardy as to try such s ridiculous stunt." He then turned to Flitwick as he asked, "Do you know if there is any remnants of the ointment which you had previously described?"

"Madame Pomfrey used a cloth to wipe the ointment off of his forehead," replied the charms master. "I do believe that she has the cloth with her."

"Very good," replied the Unspeakable, "I will be requiring that for our investigation as well."

/

The group returned to the study where everyone was waiting in silence.

Blandon showed them the box and then turned and asked Madame Pomfrey for the cloth with the ointment. The healer pulled out the cloth which she had carefully wrapped in another cloth. Upon seeing the care she had placed in protecting herself from the charmed cream he gave an approving nod.

Upon gathering the items which he needed to investigate further at his office, he then age a slight bow to the Minister for Magic. "I do believe that my services here are no longer required and my department seems to have a rather challenging and important new task at hand. So by your leave Minister, I shall show myself out." Without waiting for a response he turned and headed out of the study.

Harry turned to speak to his boss, Gawain Robards. "Sir, I would like to work on the investigation on this case."

Robards raised an eyebrow at Harry's request. "I am afraid that is completely impossible. For starters there is the fact that you have only been working as an Auror for less than a year."

Harry protested at this comment, "Most of the Aurors have been on the job for less than a year! It's taken that long to train new Aurors after the war. So why exclude me?"

Robards was clearly getting irritated at this. "Well, there are two reasons, to be frank. The first is the most obvious one and that has to do with the fact that you are the one who is being attacked here. You cannot be involved in the investigation where you are the central person involved, or more properly, the victim of the magical crime."

Harry continued his protestations. "I am not going to sit idly by while all this is going on."

The chief Auror looked to the Minister. "Then there is the promotion issue," he added quietly.

"What promotion?" asked Harry with clear confusion on his face. As he noted that Robards had directed his eyes towards the Minister for Magic, Harry then looked to Shacklebolt as well.

If his cheeks could have revealed his blushing those looking at the minister would have been surprised as to how red he was feeling.

"The owl should be arriving later today to deliver the announcement to you," replied the Minister as all eyes had turned to him. "Harry, you are being promoted to the position of Deputy Minister for Magical Investigations."

"I've never heard of such a position," snapped Harry.

Minerva commented with her usual dry tone, "Kingsley, that sounds like the title of a desk job, a paper pusher."

Harry looked at the headmistress and then back at the minister. "What is it?" he asked. "Is that true?"

Shacklebolt again responded with a little embarrassment. "The ministry determined that this was the best we could do, considering everything."

"Considering what?" demanded an obviously irritated McGonagall. "Harry is one of the best damned Aurors you've ever had! And you think that he needs a bloody desk job?"

Everyone was silent as they had never heard her lose her temper like that in front of so many people.

Kingsley sighed as he prepared to explain. "Harry is now a Lord." He paused and noted everyone was still eyeing him closely. "He is the Lord of a Nobel and Ancient House."

Harry refrained from stating something about a muggle detective and a lack of excrement.

"And what is your point, Kingsley?" demanded McGongall who continued the verbal attack.

"The point is, that the Lords of the Noble and Ancient Houses are not to be put in jeopardy." He looked around the room and he knew the only support he had in his statements was from Robards. "In muggle England, the royal family has two princes, William and Harry. They are going to school and eventually to military training. The whole country understands that they will not actually be participating in military exercises. It is mostly ceremonial and to prepare them for their eventual duties as head of the muggle monarchy. We need a similar way of protecting our nobility. We cannot as a magical society have Harry being sent out as an Auror investigating crimes and dark magic. Lords do not do such things. Our society will not tolerate that."

Hermione remained quiet, but Harry could see the anger burning in her eyes. Harry looked back at the minister and then back at the chief Auror. Bitterly he added, "And just when does this promotion take place?"

Robards avoided his gaze as he quietly answered, "It is effective immediately."

Realising there was nothing more he could say about this situation, he quickly excused himself as he said that he would be needing to put his team together for getting started on this.

Harry sat there in shock at what had just happened. Not only had he been told he could not be involved with investigating this attack but that he basically would only be a figurehead in the Auror's Office within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Everyone who was still present could feel the tension and they all started to make excuses to leave.

Minerva McGonagall placed her hand on Harry's shoulder to offer matronly comfort. As she noted that he was not reacting well to the whole situation, she then announced that she and Madame Pomfrey had obligations back at Hogwarts and she invited Professor Flitwick to join them as they used the floo to return. For his part, Kingsley Shacklebolt understood that Harry was upset with the current situation and that the so called promotion coming at this time only made the whole situation that more difficult.

"Harry, my good man," he said, "I must leave and return to the ministry. I did not mean to cause you such distress, particularly in light of the events of last night, however this is what must be done. I will contact you as soon as we have more information. I will have Robards keep you up to date on his investigation, he will probably be sending over one of the Aurors soon to review the case with you in more detail." With that statement he turned and walked out to the floo to return to his office.

Harry was surprised by how quickly he found himself alone with Hermione in the study. Inside he was fuming at the turn of events.

"Bloody hell," was all he could manage to say.

Hermione had remained unusually quiet for the entire confrontation and continued to stay tight lipped. Harry was so upset he did not raise his eyes to even look at her. After several minutes of sitting in quiet, Hermione finally stood up and headed towards the door. She turned and looked at Harry who was dealing with his raging emotions of anger, frustration and disappointment at how everything was playing out. Harry looked up at her as she was holding the door knob.

"I think it is best if I leave, now," she said as she could no longer hold back the tears that had been welling up throughout the morning.

Harry was struck dumb as she turned and walked out of his study, feeling as though she had just walked out on his life.


	11. Chapter 11 Fire Whiskey and Dreams

Saturday afternoon, July 15, 2000

Potter Manor

Harry could not understand how things had changed so quickly. Less than twenty-four hours before this he was entertaining the guests who had come to share in his officially being named Lord Potter, head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter. Now he found himself alone, barred from doing the work he had been trained for as an Auror and being subjected to an entirely new attack on his person, possibly even more malicious than anything Voldemort had done.

His friends were not at his side. Most of them had no idea what was even happening. His closest friend, Hermione Jean Granger, who he had been dating for over a year, had even walked out on him after everyone left who had come to investigate the strange occurrences of the night before. Harry was starting to wonder if he was feeling even more miserable than when he was at 4 Privet Drive. When he was growing up living in the cupboard under the stairs he at least had his relatives around. While they were abusive physically and emotionally to him, he was not physically alone. Now he was feeling as though he had been abandoned by all whom he cared about, and the pain of being alone at this time was perhaps worse than what he felt as a child. The events of the previous night, his visions and nightmares, were apparently part of some plot to make him think that he had become the new Dark Lord. He fought off those images in his dreams. He had friends and ministry officials come to help with his initial recovery from the attack as well as begin the investigation into the matter.

He sat in the main lounge of the Potter Manor. A bottle of fire whiskey was opened and next to him, half empty, with a glass in his hand. He was staring at the fire place and feeling frustrated that there was nothing he could do about his situation. His self pity was beginning to rise. He stared at the glass of fire whiskey in his hand as he contemplated his situation. He remembered how frustrated he was when he was a student and Dumbledore kept information from him leading up to the Second War. Harry decided that he would not allow himself to stay in the dark as the investigation was unfolding. He realised that he was not going to work on the case as an Auror, but he thought to himself, "Why should that stop me?" As he reminisced about his adventures at Hogwarts, he recalled being told time and time again that there was 'nothing that he could do' about the various situations that he found himself in. Harry started to feel encouraged. Sure, the ministry will be doing their own investigation, but when he was a student he never had the support of the ministry and he did defeat Voldemort with the help of his friends. Harry realised that his main problem now was that he wasn't sure which friends he could trust, or who would even be available to help him.

He looked at the glass of fire whiskey, lifted it to his mouth, and thought better of it. With his mounting frustration over the whole situation he threw the glass against the fire place in front of him. While he was lost in his self pity he had not heard the sounds of someone walking into the room behind him.

"Harry James Potter!" yelled Hermione. "Like this behaviour is going to help! I can't believe you've been sitting here getting drunk on that fire whiskey and now decide to just trash everything! I thought you were better than this!"

Harry was startled to hear Hermione screaming at him, he had thought that she had walked out on him earlier today.

He closed his mouth which was agape upon Hermione's yelling at him as she came into the room. Hermione was glaring at him and the half empty bottle of fire whiskey.

"It's not what you think!" he protested.

"Oh, it's not is it?" she snapped back. "I come back and find you getting drunk on fire whiskey and smashing glasses against the wall. I know how you get when someone tells you that you can't do something."

Harry looked at the bottle and back at Hermione. He was mad at her for having left earlier and he was surprised that she had come back. Then he noted that she had a stack of books in her arms. "What are you doing here?" he asked, ignoring her comments.

"What do you mean?" she asked surprised at his comment.

"You said you were leaving this morning," he answered and Hermione could hear the pain in his voice.

It suddenly occurred to her what Harry must have thought. "When I left I said I was leaving," she explained in a calmer tone, "I didn't say I was leaving you! I left because I needed to start our own investigation into this whole mess."

"You could have said something more than just 'I'm leaving.' How did you expect me to react to that pronouncement right after everyone else had left?" Harry's voice was straining from emotion.

Hermione placed the books down and ran over to give him a hug to comfort him. "I am so sorry, I got so caught up in what was happening and knowing that they were preventing you form having any involvement with the investigation I felt I needed to do something, so I went to begin my own research on charms and blood stones and reality altering spells." She then stepped back and glared at the bottle of fire whiskey.

Harry followed her eyes and looked at the bottle. He started to laugh.

"There is nothing funny about you getting yourself drunk when you're mad and upset," she complained. "I have never seen you react this way before."

"That's just it," Harry laughed. "I did no such thing. That bottle was left over from last night. It was already half empty. I've jus been staring at the first glass I poured for the past two hours and I got so frustrated I threw it at the wall. I haven't had a single drink all day."

Hermione stretched up on her toes and smelled his breath. She then started to blush and looked away. "I am so sorry for jumping to conclusions, that wasn't fair to you."

Harry reached out and gently pulled her chin so she had to face him. "I think that we both have been jumping to conclusions. I am sorry I doubted you, but you never gave me a real explanation about what was going on with you when you left. You hadn't said a thing all morning while Kingsley was here, I could tell you were hiding back tears, and then you left without saying anything more than you were leaving." He looked her in the eyes, searching for the reasons behind her behaviour.

Hermione gazed into the emerald orbs in front of her, and her plan to not tell Harry what she was thinking fell to the wayside. "I just didn't know how to tell you," she said meekly.

"Tell me what?" he asked.

"I definitely was not going to say anything in front of anyone else," she added.

"I am still in the dark here," he said softly.

"Your dreams," Hermione said simply. "I couldn't believe your dreams at first."

Harry noted tears coming from her eyes.

"I know that it was disturbing to hear me talk about it, but it was my dream. I know that's all it was." Harry gently brushed the tears off of Hermione's cheeks.

"No, it wasn't just your dreams. I was there, I experienced them too." She looked away form Harry.

"What do you mean you were there?" Harry asked, starting to worry more.

"I was a slave in your house. I saw you deal with Ron. I saw Bellatrix and Cho in your dreams, in my dreams." She started to cry more. Harry reached his arms around her to pull her close.

"I even remember taking a knife and attacking you with it," she cried.

"I remember what you did," he said softly. "But I know that what you did was not to hurt me, but to remove the stone from my scar. You helped me."

Hermione looked up in his eyes again. The love she saw there was almost overwhelming to her. "I didn't know how to tell you about my dreams. I was afraid of what it all meant."

"Then you tell me what you saw in the dreams. What did you see in me?" Harry asked.

"When I first saw you was after Cho yelled at me to go to the room. I was afraid at first and confused. But I saw your confusion at the situation and I saw you not reacting how Cho and Bella wanted you to. Then I realised that you were fighting what ever was happening."

Harry put his arm on her shoulder and directed her to the love seat towards the side of the room. He sat her down and drew her into a hug. Silently they held each other for several minutes.

While they were holding each other, Charles came in and quietly cleaned up the broken glass and removed the half empty bottle of fire whiskey from the table.


	12. Chapter 12

Harry sighed as he was greatly relieved to have Hermione back with him. He was emotionally drained, not only from the mental attacks during the night, but due to the emotional roller coaster he had been on all day.

Hermione finally pushed herself away from him and turned to the pile of books which she had brought with her. "I went to look through all the books that I could find on charms," she said as she started to spread them out on the table. "We need to start this investigation by trying to figure out what kind of charms were being used by whoever is trying to attack you." Hermione looked at Harry who was staring back at her with a puzzled look on his face.

"But I have been told that I am not involved in the investigation," he commented sourly, still bitter about being promoted to a meaningless job.

"Harry James Potter," snapped Hermione, "in all of your years as a student at Hogwarts, I do not believe that you ever accepted the idea that if someone told you that you could not do something that you ever believed that. You always looked into everything, every mystery, every possible conspiracy. And you expect me to believe that you are just going to lie down and mope and wait for someone else to figure this all out?"

Harry's mouth fell open. He hadn't seen Hermione get this worked up about something since they were hunting the Horcruxes.

"Don't you even think of answering that question!" she chided with a grin. "I know you. You won't trust the thoroughness of anybody's investigation into this whole mess. That is one thing you learned from the years of fighting Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

Harry started to give her a slight smile.

"And I also know that you always had my help in investigating all of the mysteries and conspiracies, and I have no intention of giving up on that now," she added as she walked back to Harry and embraced him with a warm hug.

Before Harry could respond, the woman who was now wrapped in his arms pushed away again and commenced her monologue. "Now, the way I see it, we have to figure out how they got the charms placed in the house and in the stone. We also have to analyse the cream. We will need to research what kind of magic was used to place the stone in your scar. Then we will have to come up with a list of suspects. You and I both know that there is no way the Cho Chang did this all on her own. We will have to determine what their end game is, what are they playing at, whoever they may be. Then we will have to…"

Harry silenced her with a finger on her lips. Hermione's eyes went big in her frustration at Harry's attempt to cut her off, but before she could chastise him he began to softly speak.

"Slow down Hermione," he said, with a smile finally coming to his face. "You are right, we have to do all of those things, but we are not revising for an exam in the morning. Also, please don't forget to take a breath." He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on her lips.

When Hermione had relaxed from his gentle kiss and touch, Harry added, "Let's do this together, but you really need to slow it down."

"Well, fine then, Lord Potter," she said with a laugh. "What would you have me do next then? And I'll try to take it slow so as not to lose you…"

"Well, I should send an owl to Bill and Fleur, and see when they can come over," answered Harry as he gave her a sharp glance briefly for her cheek, "and you can get started on figuring out who would be behind doing this."

Harry went to his study and began to write the letter to Bill Weasley.

_Bill,_

_I apologize for imposing on you, but I have an urgent need at this time. I have an issue here at the Potter Manor which requires someone with your unique talents and skills. I can explain further upon speaking with you face to face. Fleur may be able to provide some assistance in this endeavor. If you could send a reply letting me know if you are available to come help me with this certain problem and when you would be able to come, that would be great._

_Again, my apologies for interrupting your already busy day._

_Your friend,_

_Harry _

Harry took the note and summoned his house elf, Charles. "Please have this sent to Bill Weasley immediately," instructed Harry as he handed the note to the elf.

"As you wish, Lord Harry," replied the elf with a gracious bow.

Harry shook his head in frustration as he wondered what it would take to get the house elves to be less formal. Having completed his first task, he got up from his desk and he returned to where Hermione had begun writing out her list of "possible suspects."

Harry approached Hermione who was busy writing away on the parchment in front of her, the quill in her hand moving almost as a blur.

Upon hearing Harry walk into the room, she looked up and gave him a smile, "Done already? The letter is off to Bill?"

"Yes," he smiled. "Charles brought it to the owlry already, now we just need to wait for a reply." He glanced at the parchment that Hermione was working on and noted that there was already a large amount of writing on it.

Hermione noted that Harry was examining her work. "I've tried to narrow down who may be behind the attack on you last night. Well, I haven;t narrowed anything down yet but I figured I should start with a list of who would have a desire or motivation to hurt you."

"Right," stated Harry with a nod of his head. "So, what do you have so far?"

"Alright, here it goes, in no particular order, just the order that they came to mind," replied Hermione, then she gave a frown. "But I don't want you to get upset or angry with the list, just think about it and let me read what I have done."

Harry grinned at her and put a hand on her shoulder, "It's alright 'Mione, just read the list," he implored.

"Right, well, obviously there is Cho Chang," Hermione began. She paused immediately after this first name was read, "I know it is kind of obvious considering the dreams and all, but could she be upset over your breaking up with her all those years ago? I mean, you dated Ginny even before you and I got together. This doesn't make any sense."

"None of it makes much sense," he said softly. "Let's move on and not worry about why right now, we can come back to that later."

Hermione gave him a smile and turned back to the list.

"Well, any number of girls from Hogwarts who wanted you for themselves," she started again, but then was interrupted by Harry.

"What girls?" he asked with a puzzled expression.

"The Boy WHo Lived Fan Club," she answered with shake of her head. "Ginny may have been the founding member, but the club seemed to grow every year. Even some Slytherins were in it by the time we went off to hunt the Horcruxes."

"Whatever," said Harry. "But go on."

"I will," she laughed, "as long as you stop this interrupting, it will take all day at this rate."

Hermione waited and as Harry did not voice any more interruptions she started to read again.

"Slytherins, Death Eater, Mud-Blood Haters, Werewolf sympathizers who blame you for Fenrir Grayback's death, Werewolf haters who know you were friends with Remus Lupin, surviving relatives of the LeStrange family, surviving relatives of any Death Eaters who died during the war, Umbridge, Umbridge's supporters…"

"Who would ever support her?" Harry asked, then realized he had interrupted again.

"Any of the students who actually worked for her on the Inquisitorial Squad, and those who worked under her when she was heading the Muggle-Born Registration Committee."

"Oh, yeah, those people," muttered Harry.

"Can I continue again?" asked Hermione.

"Please," he apologized.

"Any player for a Quidditch team at Hogwarts who you beat, and any of Cedric Diggory's fan club who might still blame you for his death, any one from Durmstrang or Beauxbatton who think you cheated in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, any one who was offended by your parents in the past, anyone who thinks you are a threat to magical society for any of the things you were accused of by the Daily Prophet and Cornelius Fudge during our fifth year, Rita Skeeter, students from Hogwarts who suffered under the Carows while we were hunting Horcruxes, family members of anyone who died during the war against Voldemort."

"Erm, Hermione," Harry interrupted again.

"Yes, My Lord?" she replied feigning anger and being overly polite.

"Would the list be shorter if we made a list of who doesn't have a reason to do this?"

"But I am only half way through the list," she protested.

"I know," he said tenderly, "but right about now I don't see how this list is going to help. You've included almost everyone in magical Britain and probably a fair portion of Europe as well."

Hermione pouted at his comments. "Well, then," she replied with a smile coming back to her face, "what thoughts do you have about how we should best proceed with this investigation? Or are you leaving the planning to me, again?"

Harry walked over to her and gave her a hug. "Just because I leave the planning to you does not mean that I will actually agree to or follow up on that plan."

As she leaned her head against Harry's chest she looked up into his eyes as she replied, "Why would expect you to change now, Lord Potter?"

He placed a gentle kiss on top of her head and then he took a seat next to her. He looked at the pile of books that she had obtained from the Black Library at Grimauld Place. The dust on the bindings and the titles all clearly being about the Dark Arts, Harry was sure there was only one place that Hermione would have been able to find these. He glanced at the titles in the pile: "Dreams and Visions, the Beauty of Dark Sleep", "Charms and Transfigurations, Dark and Light", "Making Your Dreams Come True While Your Enemies Suffer", "Possessing The Mind Is the Key to Your Enemies Soul". Harry looked from the pile of books to Hermione. The movement of his head snapping back and forth between the pile and his love caught her attention.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"These books," he said with surprise, "You're actually going to read these things? When we first stayed at Grimmauld Place years ago you were horrified at many of the books int he library."

"Harry James Potter, if it means finding away to protect the man I love than I will read these books. If you haven't figured it out by now, I will do anything to keep the Boy-Who-Lived from being the Man-Who-Was-Killed-or-Worse. You rescued me from a troll when I was eleven, you stood up for me more times than I can remember throughout our years at Hogwarts, you were determined to stop the basilisk after it paralysed me, you rescued me from Bellatrix's torture, you never gave up on me when were hunting the Horcruxes. It's about time I bloody well did something to help you."

Harry reached out his hands to hold Hermione's in his as he looked at her with compassion, "You know you have done so much for me all those years, you've always been the one to support me, to stand by my side even when you disagreed with my choices. No one else has been there like that for me." He was about to lean over the table and give her a kiss when Charles popped into the room next to them.

"You have a reply from Mr. Weasley," said the proud elf. "He and his wife should be arriving by floo any moment."

**A/N: I have several chapters mapped out - they will be worked on. Reviews and feedback are welcome. I also have another story in draft form...and I also have real life to attend to as well...****No time line for when next update will be available...**


	13. Chapter 13 Of Wards and Dreams

Harry and Hermione were anxiously awaiting the arrival of Bill Weasley and his wife as they were searching for useful information in the books that Hermione had acquired. Harry noted the look of frustration on his girlfriend's face when they were startled by a thud in front of the fireplace. Turning to face the source of the noise they saw a grinning Bill Weasley dusting himself off as Fleur slapped his arm. "Do you always have to be so loud when you exit the floo?" she demanded.

"Sorry, dear, but it's just an old habit," he replied sheepishly. Bill turned to Harry and Hermione, "It drives mum up the wall," he explained. Then he walked up to Harry and greeted him with a firm handshake, "Good to see you again, mate!" Then turning to Hermione he gave her a gentle hug and a kiss on the cheek. "And you too, Hermione," then adding in a whisper, "You really are better off with old green eyes here than my brother, good on you!"

Hermione blushed slightly at this unexpected comment. She turned to Fleur who had just greeted Harry with a kiss on both cheeks and was now doing the same to her.

Bill spoke again before Harry had a chance to say anything, "So, I hear you have some wards that need to be tested? Some sort of security problem?"

"You could say that," answered Harry.

Hermione swatted Harry's shoulder as she added, "That's putting it mildly. Tell them the whole story, they need to know."

Harry gestured towards the couches in the middle of the room. Once they were all comfortable, Harry began to recount the events of the previous night. He started with the ball, and then the dreams and then the beginning of the investigation. Hermione told them how she was involved in the dreams, and then Harry continued with the tale of the gem stone and the scar. Bill and Fleur were shocked at the news. Bill shook his head in dismay.

"There must have been some pretty serious charms and wards that were affected to allow someone that kid of access to you in your own home," Bill stated with awe. "I think its best that you have me or some other curse breaker form Gringotts look into this, as this is way beyond what the Ministry of Magic can deal with, but don't tell anyone from there that I said so." Bill then looked to Fleur, "This could get kind of tricky, so just monitor what I do as I examine the wards around the manor." Turning back to Harry and Hermione he added, "Just have a seat and relax, this could take a while." Bill then took out his wand and nodded to Fleur to have her do the same. Quietly he explained to his wife what he was planning to do to examine the wards, and then he began to slowly wave his wand to get a general feel for the protections in and around the property. Immediately he felt something wasn't right with the wards. As a curse breaker he was attuned to the traces of dark magic and he began to frown that he could sense even the slightest dark magic in the Potter Manor, but there was a clear strong dark aura around the entire room. Bill started to frown and Fleur gave him an odd look, as she had not sensed anything yet. Bill looked at his wand and then up to his wife as he was sensing the dark magic grow in response to his searching. "This can't be good," he muttered.

Fleur was now beginning to sense something was awry when there came a slight gasp and then two thuds behind them. The two turned to see that both Harry and Hermione had collapsed onto the floor. "_Mon dieu!_" screamed the Veela. They ran over to examine the two and found that they both seemed to be in a trance. Bill quickly put his wand away and began to scan the immediate area for curses with his hands, trying to avoid triggering any more curses. Fleur also joined him and in moments they knew that there was only a very small amount of dark magic that had been released. Bill spoke to his wife, "You watch over these two, I need to check the wards more carefully."

/\\\/\\\/\\\

Harry felt a stab into his forehead, his scar was burning again. He wiped his brow with his black sleeve and felt the black kerchief covering his head as usual. He paused and stared at his arm. He was surprised to be wearing the black shirt, and he then wondered why he had the bandana over his head again. He looked at the dagger he was holding in his right hand, the one he had taken away from his slave. He shook his head to try and clear the fog he seemed to be in. Of course he was wearing his black outfit, that's what he always wore, wasn't it? He slid the knife into a sheath attached to his belt. A slight whimper from behind him caught his attention. He turned and saw his slave kneeling with her wrists and ankle bound. Hermione should have known better then to dare attack him. She should be grateful he hadn't killed her yet, or worse. After all, his girlfriend should be taking care of him, not stabbing him in the head.

Harry looked at Hermione and then he looked across his room to the broken mirror. His head began to throb as he was overwhelmed with confusing thoughts. Hermione is not his slave, she's his girlfriend. Why is he wearing the black outfit again. Why is Hermione tied up? Wasn't he just down stairs with somebody else?

The thought of Hemrione being bound startled him and he turned to look at her again. She had tears streaking down her face as she was confused and afraid. Harry jumped to her side and pulled the knife out from the sheath. Hermione gasped audibly at the site of the blade. Harry then realized how he had startled her with the dagger. "Relax, it's okay 'Mione," said as gently as possible as he sliced the ropes from off of her wrists and then from off of her ankles. He dropped the knife onto the floor beside him and the two hugged each other tightly.

"Oh my God, Harry," she cried into his shoulder as she grabbed him with both her arms. "What's happening? Where's Bill and Fleur?"

Harry held her tight in his arms, pulling her close to comfort her. "Last I knew we were downstairs with them, then the next thing I knew we were here and everything changed."

Hermione pushed herself away slightly and looked at his face. Lifting her right hand she pushed the black cap off of his head. Gently rubbing his scar she sighed in relief, "The stone is gone Harry. What's happening here?"

"It must be the wards," he guessed. "Bill started to inspect them, they must have been booby-trapped." He looked into her eyes and then wiped the tears off of her cheeks. "Did you really think I was going to hurt you?"

"I wash;t sure what to think," she answered more truthfully then she had expected. "I think I was more in shock to find myself with the ropes on my wrists and ankles. But I knew it wasn't the same as the previous dreams."

Harry took her arms and pulled her to stand with him as he arose from the floor. He listened for a minute and he did not hear any sounds indicating that there was anyone else in the house. "Maybe we should take a look around," he added softly. "This does feel very different from the dreams I had before, I feel like I am more in control, but I definitely have quite the headache this time."

Hermione held onto his hand and leaned into him as they headed out of his bedroom and down the stairs to the large hall where they had been previously with Bill and Fleur. They were not particularly surprised to find that the room was empty. After looking around the room she turned to Harry as she asked, "Now what?"

Harry smiled at her as he answered. "Hey, you're the brightest witch of our age, I expected you to have a plan."

She slapped his shoulder gently as she giggled slightly. "You're the one who got us into this mess, didn't you?"

"That doesn't mean I know what's going on," he smiled back at her through his piercing headache. "But at least we're both experiencing this together. I just don't understand how this happened again, you removed the gem stone, we washed off the ointment that was charmed…"

"There must be something in the wards," said Hermione as they began to explore more of the house to see if they could find anything or anyone. "It does seem a little eerie though that we're the only ones here this time. Maybe the events that occurred in the dreams last night were triggered by the gem and the basic surrounding is controlled by the wards."

Harry turned to look at his girlfriend and then pulled her into an embrace. After kissing her gently he spoke softly, "Well, at least we're in this together and we remember who we really are, that I am no dark lord and you are not my slave."

Hermione winked at him as she replied with a sly grin, "You don't have to sound too upset about that part."

As she was lifting her face up to Harry to steal a kiss, she felt a sudden wave a dizziness as the room seemed to spin. Harry felt a similar wave of vertigo as everything started to go dark around them.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\

Hermione's eyes started to focus as she noticed the features of a face come into focus in front of her. The face was framed with long blonde hair.

"Welcome back, cheri," whispered Fleur as she wiped Hermione's brow with a cool, damp cloth. "Here, take a piece of _chocolat_, _Guillame_ says it should help erase the effects of the curse."

Hermione's senses started to come back to her and she realized that she was lying on one of the beds in a guest room. She took the proffered delicate sweet, immediately enjoying the difference in the taste compared to the typical milk chocolate that she had eaten before. She made a mental note to herself to find out just where Fleur obtained the confection after she was feeling better. Suddenly remembering she had been with Harry, she tried to push herself out of bed, "Harry!" she exclaimed. "Where is he? Is he alright?"

"There, there," said Fleur trying to calm Hermione as she gently pushed her back into the bed, "Harry, he is fine, he is in the next room, Guilliame is with him, he is waking up just now too." Fleur was easily able to prevent Hermione from getting out of the bed. However, Bill was not having the same success with Harry.

"I don't care about that right now," snapped Harry as he pushed Bill to the side. "Let me see her, now!" he demanded as he strode into the room which Hermione was in. Fleur jumped off from the side of the bed as she went to greet Harry.

"Non, non, non," she chided, "_Arrete!_ You must rest!"

Harry gently pushed past Fleur and reached out for Hermione. He was still weak from the effects of the curse that caused the dream experience and he began to collapse as he reached the edge of the bed. Hermione pulled him into her arms and away from the edge of the bed. She hugged him tight as she whispered in his ear, "I'd really rather not go through this ever again,"

A short while after the two were able to release each other from the embrace, Bill approached Harry and Hermione. "You were right Harry," said Bill with a look of frustration, "the wards have been tampered with, with a type of magical wards that I have not seen, anywhere." Bill sighed and then continued, "This will take me a while to get to the bottom of this mystery. In the mean time, we need to figure out a safe place for you to go, as the cursed wards need to be removed and we probably need to check the rest of your properties."

"Erm, I see what you mean," said Harry as he turned towards Bill but refused to let go of Hermione. "But, if we can't go to any of my houses or apartments, where can we go? What do we do?" Harry turned to his girlfriend, as he asked her her thoughts. "What do you think, luv, where should we go? And who could be doing this?"

"I still have no idea who did this," replied Hermione. She looked to Bill and then to Fleur. "So, if it isn't safe to stay here, or go to any of Harry's homes, then what do you suggest?"

Bill quickly looked to Fleur and then to Harry and Hermione. "I think the best place to start is heading to Gringotts. I'll need to get some help with these wards, and I definitely do not want to examine them again with you two here. Perhaps the goblins will have some insight into this whole mess."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: sorry for the delay - Harry Potter Alone is complete. I do not have as much time to write - but this story will continue...**

Bill and Fleur were in a deep conversation with the head curse breaker at Gringotts. The goblin was particularly unpleasant looking, even for a goblin. He was missing a couple of fingers on his left hand, and half of his right ear was missing. He had a large scar covering half of the left side of his face. When he smiled he had only slightly more than half of his teeth remaining, and his eyes were an unnatural yellow on the right and a reddish-orange colour on the left. No one dared asks the renowned curse breaker how he ever obtained the name Softclaw, although many of the curse breakers who worked with him figured that there must have been a good story behind his name.

Softclaw shook his head in frustration. The report that the two human curse breakers had just relayed to him was not adding up. He had never heard of Weasley finding a curse or set of runes that he could not fully decode. The old goblin had rarely been to any actual cursed locations in years, but he decided that the Potter Manor was perhaps worthy of his personal investigation. As he walked out through the lobby of Gringotts with Bill and Fleur in tow, there was a hush as the goblins had not seen him leave for an actual curse breaking job for much of their careers.

The trio had arrived at the manor and they were greeted by the Lord Potter immediately upon flooing into the large room. Harry bowed forward immediately as he welcomed the renowned curse breaker into his home. "It is an honour to have you come to my home," Harry said simply.

"Nonsense," snapped the goblin. "If what I hear say is true about what has been done to your wards, then I would say that the honour is all mine. However, I would request that before we begin that you would leave, as I would not want the previous events to recur, and I am unsure as to just how long this will take to unravel the mystery. You will find Miss Granger waiting for you to join her at the antechambers to my office at Gringotts." The smile he gave to Harry was unnerving to everyone in the room, but Harry bowed once again and made is exit through the floo.

"Very well," said the goblin as he started to wave his hands slowly in intricate patterns in front of his face, "let us see just what we have here." Bill and Fleur awaited anxiously for over ten minutes as Softclaw continued to chant quietly in Gobbledygook. Bill noted the goblin's right eyebrow raise ever so slightly as he continued the curse detection spell. Slowly he spun in a circle around as his chanting started to increase in tempo, and his hands increased the intricacy of their patterns. Fleur noted the sweat appearing on the brow of the goblin and quietly elbowed her husband in his side and with a nod of her head she tried to draw his attention to the obvious strain the aged curse breaker. After another ten minutes of chanting, the goblin finally stopped all speaking and his arms collapsed to his side with a heavy thud. Bill reached out to steady his department head. Immediately the goblin brushed away Bill's hands. Then he began to make an eerie sound. Bill and Fleur immediately recognised it as a form of goblin laughter.

"This was clearly a worthwhile experience!" exclaimed the goblin. He looked about him and saw a small chair in the centre of the room and he decided to take a seat. "Fascinating work!" he continued. "So simple in design, but yet so complex, and nearly impossible for most curse breakers to detect or to remove!"

Bill and Fleur were stunned, and gaped as the looked back at the old creature. Softclaw realised that anyone else probably would have had a very difficult time finding most of the curses and then an even greater time deciphering how to break them. "What is it?" asked a worried Bill Weasley, wondering if he had overlooked something earlier, and he then feared that if he had missed something that was considered to simple, would his job be in danger.

Softclaw spoke softly as he decided to make this an educational experience for the two young curse breakers.

"What was one of the first major breakthroughs in learning to break ancient curses?" asked the goblin with his odd grin.

Bill shrugged his shoulders as he answered, "That would be the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, hailed by muggles as the way to translate hieroglyphics from ancient Egypt. But it also had clues to ancient runes and wards."

"Precisely," continued Softclaw. "Now, Madam Weasley, what important lesson did the early curse breakers learn from the Rosetta Stone?"

"Not all curses are using the modern runes nor are the spells used to create wards and curses always spoken in Latin by wizards."

"Correct," he smiled back at her. The young couple had to suppress the nauseating feelings they received every time their boss smiled.

Bill then raised an eyebrow and interjected, "That explains the confusing wards. I am used to looking for hieroglyphs mixed in among wards from the work we've done in Egypt, however I had not expected on finding other languages in the spells that were cast."

Softclaw nodded and then added, "The wards here have multiple spells woven into their make up — some use Ancient Greek, some use Sumerian and some are also using the Cyrillic alphabet, most likely representing old Slavonic words and associated spells and runes."

* * *

><p>Harry had arrived at Gringotts and immediately found Hermione who was waiting for him in Softclaw's antechamber just as he had been told. Harry quickly took her by her hand and quietly told her that he felt they should head over to the ministry to check up on the investigation on that end. A few minutes later they were walking into the offices of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, heading towards the Auror's office. Harry's supervisor, Gawain Robards noticed Harry and Hermione coming into the area and he walked over to intercept them.<p>

"Harry," said the head Auror, "just what are you doing here? I know I told you to back off of this case."

"Relax, Robards," said Harry as he tried to steady his reaction. "I am only here to find out what is going on with your investigation, I am not trying to get directly involved. I do have a right to know where the investigation is leading."

Robards looked from Harry to Hermione and then back to Harry. "Right," he said simply. "So far, we have very little to go on. We have not been able to find out where Cho Chang has been since your party. We're still doing background checks to see if we can find out who she may have been associating with over the past year."

Harry nodded as he listened to the information, and silently he cursed who was doing the investigation as they had no real information on Cho, and it would be obvious that she would be trying to avoid being found. Harry then asked a further question, "What about the wards? Do you have any leads on who messed with the wards? And what about the stone? Where could that have come from?"

Robards raised his hands in front of Harry. "Slow down, we're looking into everything. The information doesn't just grow on trees, and you know that. ANd even if it did, we'd have plenty of branches to shake just to get the information to fall. Not everyone is as intimidating as The-Boy-Who-Lived with his scar and all, so you'll have to just wait to let them do their jobs. You know we've got good people here. But you also know you have to be patient."

Harry was not particularly impressed or encouraged. He waited a few moments to allow Robards to offer any further information and then he decided to try and get some more information. "I think I'll track down Blandon, see if he has any information on the stone."

Robards nodded in agreement, "That sounds like a good idea." As Harry was turning to leave he added, "I'll send you an owl as soon as I learning anything more."

"Right," called back Harry not bothering to turn back around as he took Hermione's hand to bring her with him. "You do that, I'll be waiting."

Harry and Hermione made their way through the halls of the Ministry of Magic and then got onto one of the lifts to take them to the Department of Mysteries. The halls were fairly crowded this morning and many people just stopped and stared when they realised that the young man with the scar on his forehead must have been Harry Potter. The younger witches may have just been remembering the recent cover story from Witch Weekly that discussed the Most Eligible Wizard - Harry Potter, completely ignoring the fact that he and Hermione had been a relationship and a fairly public one at that, ever since he defeated Lord Voldemort. As the young couple walked through the halls they occasionally noticed individuals whom they knew from school. Finally they reached the entrance to the Department of Mysteries, and then they entered the office. There was a simple desk at one end of the room with a young witch sitting there sorting through various paper airplane messages hovering around the desk. She looked up and greeted the two people who just walked through the door.

"Welcome Lord Potter," she said overly cheerfully, "and I presume that this must be Miss Granger with you."

"Then you would presume correctly, Melody," Harry answered simply, trying to ignore her overly friendly attitude. "Is Blandon available? I have some questions for him."

"Of course you do," she smiled. "I'll send him a quick message to let him know you are here." With a slight flick of her wrist, a small piece of paper folded itself into a paper airplane and flew down the hall behind her. Harry noted her eyes dart over to the chairs to the side of the room and then he led Hermione over to take a seat as they waited for the Director of the Department of Mysteries to show up. The two waited quietly, watching the little paper messages flying in and out of the department. After a few minutes, Maurice Blandon came up the hall and noted Harry who was waiting patiently.

"Lord Potter," he said as he offered his hand, "what can I do for you this day?"

"Blandon," Harry replied in greeting as he shook the offered hand. "I was hoping that you may have some information on the stone."

Blandon raised an eyebrow. "These things take time, you know that."

Harry frowned at the obviously to short of an answer. "Well, I also had another question for you. The Ministry had arranged for a security detail to evaluate the wards prior to the party last week. Would the person or persons responsible for the evaluation of the wards have come from the DMLE or from your department?"

"That would have been the DMLE, our curse breakers are away investigating some unusual phenomenon near Cornwall. You know how those things go, no one wants to do that kind of work, they all think it's just a formality." After a slight pause and noticing Hermione's growing irritation with the comment, he quickly added, "No offence Potter, but such public affairs have been pretty routine ever since you eliminated the Dark Lord. Perhaps some people were just becoming too complacent."

"So it would seem," said Harry, trying to mask his irritation with the director. "Come on Hermione, let's head back up to the DMLE, and see who they assigned to the case."

Hermione had a puzzled look on her face. "I didn't know the Aurors did that sort of work. You never told me you ever had to do such an assignment."

"I never had to do that," he smiled. "The DMLE has some curse breakers for various investigations, they sometimes work with the Aurors, but they are in a different department. No one from the DMLE told me who was doing the investigation, I only just remembered that it is typical protocol before such an event."

"Only just remembered?" she asked him warily.

Harry became slightly defensive, "Hey, I was the one about to have my coming out party as a Lord of a Noble and Most Ancient House. I was a little pre-occupied."

Hermione grinned at him and gave him a quick hug. They continued to walk up the hall towards the lifts to head back to the DMLE. As they rounded a corner, Harry collided with a young witch who was carrying a stack of parchments. The tall blonde immediately bent over to pick up the mess, muttering under her breath. Harry immediately knelt down to help pick up the mess he was partially responsible for. He looked into the face of the witch and he recognised her as a classmate from Hogwarts. Her ice-blue eyes were an instant give away.

"Sorry Greengrass, I should have been more careful," he said softly.

"It's okay, Potter," she said quietly. Just before she stood up she slipped a small piece of paper into his hand. As she shook her head to straighten her pony tail behind her, she looked over at the young woman standing to the side of Harry. She gave a curt nod as she simply greeted her by her last name, "Granger."

Hermione's response was an equally as curt "Greengrass."

With an awkward silence between the three acquaintances, the blonde Slytherin finally gave a slight nod as she said, "Sorry, I should be more careful. Good day, Lord Potter." Without waiting for a response, Daphne Greengrass turned on her heel and headed down the hall past the two Gryffindors.

Hermione watched the tall blonde woman walk away. She then turned to Harry who had a confused look on his face.

"If I didn't know better, Lord Potter," said Hermione with a smirk, "I would have thought she may have done that deliberately with the way she looked at you while you were helping her gather her things."

Harry sheepishly replied, "You have no idea," as he placed the paper in his pocket without looking at it yet.

"And just what is that supposed to mean, _Potter_?" she asked as she emphasised his last name, trying to catch the inflection that Daphne Greengrass had used.

"I'll tell you later after I look at the note that she slipped into my hand before I stood up," he said with a slight frown.

Hermione realised that Harry was serious and wondered just why the Slytherin had done such a thing. As they boarded a lift that was previously empty, Harry waited for the doors to close and then he looked at the paper.

_Muggle Coffee Shop, 1 block north of the Leaky Cauldron, half eleven._

Harry slid the paper back into his pocket after he allowed Hermione to take a quick glance.

She looked up at Harry, not sure if she should laugh at the cloak and dagger methods being used. "Are you really going to meet with her?" she asked.

"Why not?" Harry answered quietly.

"Are you going alone? Or do I get to join you?"

"The note didn't say 'come alone' or any such nonsense," Harry answered with a wink, "so as I'm not about to run off with her, I think it's safe for you to join us."

Hermione eyed her boyfriend closely, before asking another question. "Has she ever spoken to more than grunting your name at you?"

Harry laughed. "The Ice Princess does _not_ grunt." After Hermione joined in the mirth, he quickly added, "She may have purred, or whispered, but she does _not_ grunt."

Hermione slapped him on the shoulder as the door to the lift opened and their destination was announced.

The two entered the DMLE arm in arm as Harry this time approached the investigation bureau and avoided the Auror's office. Upon speaking to the receptionist at the desk, Harry only had to wait for a few minutes before he was having his questions answered. "That would have been Jason Abrams who was the curse breaker, ward inspector. Two weeks prior to the Lord Potter's Ball he was assigned to investigate the property in question."

"So, can I speak with him?" asked Harry.

The receptionist scanned the information she had in front of her. "No, not right now. It seems he has been on vacation since last week. Not due back till next Monday."

Hermione looked up at Harry. "Convenient," she muttered.

"Too convenient," replied Harry. He turned back to the receptionist as he said, "Could you please forward all of this information to Robards at the Aurors office? I'd be most appreciative," he added with a grin.

Not waiting for her reply, Harry took Hermione by the hand as he said, "I think we have a date for a coffee, so we best get going."


	15. Chapter 15 Lunch with a Slytherin

**A/N: Plot twists just came up left and right….Hopefully this will continue to make sense….**

**A/N2: Wishing a blessed Pascha to all Eastern Orthodox readers….I presume there must be at least a few of you out there….**

**A/N3: Also, I updated the story summary/description for this story  
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Harry and Hermione left the Leaky Cauldron and started heading up Charing Cross Road. Soon they found the only coffee shop that was located about one block north of the entrance to Diagon Alley. Harry looked at Hermione and then the two decided to enter. There was a growing crowd so they decided to get into line to order something so as not look suspicious. Hermione had been keeping her eye open for any sign of Greengrass, when she noticed the blonde former Slytherin approach the shop from the opposite direction they had come. Upon entering the shop, she walked over towards Harry, and as she bumped into him slightly in the crowd, she quietly stated the name of a small pub another block away, and then stated "twenty minutes, lunch, back table". She turned and glared at Hermione who was there, and then quickly added, "I should have guessed she would be with you, see you then." Immediately she walked past Harry and exited the shop.

Hermione looked at Harry who was shocked by the comments. "Doesn't being an Auror train you for being all mysterious and acting like a spy?" asked a bemused Hermione.

Harry simply shook his head, "This couldn't possibly get any stranger?" he asked.

Hermione then took Harry by the hand as she spoke loud enough to be heard by those new them, "The line here is just taking too long, let's go find some place else." With that she pulled him out of the door and they turned north up Charing Cross Road. When Harry raised an eyebrow at her, she simply replied, "We're about to go sit down for lunch at a pub with a former Slytherin who barely said more than a couple of words to you in six years together at Hogwarts, you don't need to ruin your appetite anymore."

"Who said meeting with Daphne Greengrass would ever ruin my appetite?" he answered cheekily.

Hermione swatted his shoulder. "Prat."

A short while later the young couple found themselves seated at a table in the back of a small pub. Upon arriving at the table, the blonde woman sat down deliberately taking a seat that allowed her to keep an eye on the door. She greeted the two with a simple, "Potter, Granger," as she cast an eye on Hermione, sizing her up to decide if she could trust her. Quickly she added, "I wasn't sure if you were going to bring her with you."

Hermione glared at the blonde woman.

"Relax, Granger," smiled Daphne, "I meant no offence."

Harry proceeded to ask her, "So, just why did you ask us to meet you here?"

Before Daphne could answer, the waitress arrived to take their order. The trio quickly ordered a light lunch, and as the server left for the kitchen Daphne subtly cast a silencing charm around them so they would not be interrupted.

"Before I answer that," replied the young woman, "let me ask you something. Why did you come? You had only a simple note from someone you never spoke to in school, yet you actually met me today."

"Curiosity, I guess," answered Harry. "I surmised that you planned to bump into me when you slipped me the note, and it's not like you, a Slytherin, to try and speak with the Boy-Who-Lived."

"Always with the labels, Potter," smirked Daphne.

"So, Greengrass," cut in Hermione, "why did you arrange this meeting with Harry? You could have just spoken to him at the ministry."

Daphne rolled her eyes at Hermione's comment. "You were the ones who knew the ministry was lying back in fifth year when they claimed The-Boy-Who-Lived was delirious and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had not really returned. And you ask me why I shouldn't talk to Potter at the ministry?"

"But Harry defeated Voldemort," protested Hermione. "The war ended. The Aurors have been rounding up the raining Death Eaters."

Daphne laughed at the comment. "You keep telling yourself that, Granger. And everyone claimed you were the brightest witch of our age. Do you two have no idea what is going on? Society has not changed yet. Not in any great ways. Yes, the war with Voldemort is over, but the war of Light versus Dark, Muggle-Born versus Pure-Blood, that is still simmering. It continues. And there are those who do not want it to end. And you, Potter, are still a threat to those people."

Hermione continued to watch the blonde warily. "While what you say may be true, you still have not told us why you wanted to meet with Harry. So, are you going to tell us?"

Daphne looked to Harry who silently acknowledged that he would like to hear an answer to Hermione's statement. "I still have one more question for Lord Potter," she began her reply. "You had quite the lovely party the other night when you came into your Lordship and it was a most enjoyable event. But ever since then there is been a buzz around the Ministry, mostly in the DMLE and the Department of Mysteries. What really happened is only part of the mystery. Personally, I doubt that you are getting all of the information you want or even need, and it is quite apparent that your role as an Auror is going to be only as a figurehead from now on. You want information. I have some."

Hermione continued her verbal assault with her questions. "Why would you want to give Harry this information? What is in it for you? How do we know we can trust you? Why do you think Harry can't trust the Ministry? Who is putting you up to this?"

Harry now raised a hand to try and slow Hermione down. "Take a breath, 'Mione, and let Greengrass get a chance to explain herself." Turning now to Daphne, he added, "And I would like to hear your answers to the questions."

"To answer your questions in order, Granger," said the now obviously irritated blonde, "One, I think it would prove to be quite useful to Lord Potter and I highly doubt the Ministry either has some of the information or is willing to share it all with him; two, I feel it's the right thing to do, and there are some personal advantages to me to help Lord Potter through this; three, you will just have to learn to trust me, or you can walk away without any more information than you had when you came in here; four, were you not listening to anything I already said and have you so quickly forgotten Harry's history of his relationship with the Ministry; and finally, no one is putting me up to this but me."

Harry eyed her closely as he asked more pointedly, "You say that you feel it is the right thing to do, and that there may be some personal advantage for you to help me, would you care to elaborate on what advantages this had for you?"

Daphne paused for a few moments before she answered the question as the waitress brought them their meals. "Helping you, in my opinion, ultimately helps the entire wizarding society, which should obviously be beneficial to me. Hopefully I can even manage to make some personal gains out of the whole situation But that will remain to be seen."

"What kind of personal gains?" asked Hermione with a sharp tone.

"Personal," sneered Daphne, "almost any sort of personal advantage, whether it be political or societal would be useful." She paused as the waitress returned with their meals. After the serving girl left, Daphne continued. "Something happened with your wards, I presume."

"And just why would you say that?" asked a slightly surprised Hermione.

"I work in the DMLE in the investigations unit, mostly helping to analyse information for them," explained Daphne. "I also happen to know that the investigator who examined the wards at the Potter Manor is missing, and the Ministry explanation that he is on vacation is a load of tripe. In addition to the Department of Mysteries being involved with the investigation, something unusual is going on with you, _Lord_ Potter," her over emphasis on the title Lord was not missed by anyone, "in combination with the fact that you are essentially a figurehead within your own department, it is clear that there is something which you aren't telling. Kind of reminds me of school when I think about it."

Harry and Hermione both noted the pleasant smile that Daphne had when she finished her explanation. Before either of them could say something, Daphne continued. "You also find yourself in a particular dilemma. Despite everything you have been through, from school, to the war, to being an Auror and now officially being introduced as a lord, you really have no bloody idea about being a lord in a pure-blood dominated society. How much do you know about muggle society? About the muggle royalty? You are our royalty, to be blunt and simple about it. And the magical society does not want their prince, their knight in shining armour running off chasing dragons, or tilting at windmills. By the way, nice bit of flying to get away from that Hungarian Horntail during the tournament."

Harry was unsure of what to say at this point and Hermione had more information thrown at her in the past few minutes than she had ever expected, so after a brief pause she finally spoke up.

"What does Harry being a lord have to do with this?" she asked. "And why are you telling us about the inner workings of the ministry. Harry could get all of the information he wants from minister Shacklebolt."

Daphne scoffed at that, which caused Harry to raise an eyebrow. "Oh, I know you two are tight, Potter, but he is the minister which trumps his being your friend. He may want to tell you more, but he will be limited in what he can say and what he can do. You of all people should understand that after the hell the ministry put you through school. And if you are not careful, the press will roast you alive for getting involved with things they think you shouldn't. You've already learned the press will turn on you in a moment. You can't control the press, you need to learn how to manipulate the press."

Hermione's stare burned into Daphne. "So, you come here with information, and it seems you intend to educate us, or Harry at least, on the workings of the ministry, on the workings of magical society and even how to manipulate the press. Have I got it right so far?"

Daphne merely nodded with a smug smile.

Harry rubbed his chin briefly and then he asked, "And what _exactly_ do you get out of this? You have been a little to vague so far in your answers."

Her smug look did not disappear. "There are several personal advantages. _If _ you choose to work with me, or rather, have me work with you, then there will be press generated. Press that would help me in several ways. Potter, you need a distraction, you need society looking at something other than the mystery of what happened at your party. You need to get the entire ministry thinking of something other than the mysterious investigation that has started. I can definitely help there. You two are already used to the press lambasting your relationship. Have you never followed the muggle papers and rags? There are magical paparazzi just as there are muggle paparazzi. They want to sensationalise everything about you, just like the muggles do with the royal family and with celebrities. You need to give them something to sensationalise, or at least something they think they can sensationalise. Don't worry about what the press says about you. You're the bloody Boy Who Lived and the Chosen One, you killed Voldemort in front of an audience for Merlin's sake, the people will love you, but they will think what they want of you and your personal life. They don't care about the truth. Why do you think two-thirds of magical society our age and younger grew up being read all of those Boy-Who-Lived stories? Everyone knows they're not true. They like to believe them, even if it is only a dream story. Give them as much fiction as the society can handle and you and the ones you really care about, the ones who really know you, will always know the truth. The Daily Prophet doesn't care about the truth. They care about scandal, sensationalism, and selling papers."

Hermione was aghast at the explanation. "How does scandal help you?"

"You're thinking like a muggle, or at least like someone who has no clue about pure-blood society," commented Daphne, trying to restrain her irritation with the brunette. "I have one sister, no brother. My father needs a way to carry on the family name. Tradition dictates that I be placed in an arranged marriage. One that will require, or allow, my first son to the heir to my husband, and my second son to carry the Greengrass name. My father is working on such a contract with a magical business associate from Europe. Personally, I am not opposed to a marriage contract n general, just this one in particular. The right scandal, involving my name, at the right time, will end this and any marriage contract possibilities for several months if not several years, hopefully buying me time to figure something out that is beneficial to me."

Daphne paused and let what she had to say sink in to the two dumbfounded individuals with her. "Hey, I am a Slytherin, we're cunning and ambitious, we are not automatically junior death eaters out to kill off the light sided families and Harry effing Potter just for fun. And you two still need to learn about our society and I can still get you more information from within the ministry that you will not get easily."

Before either one of them could answer, Daphne continued, "If you are in, then we can start your education tonight. After I have dinner in a very public place with Harry and without you Hermione. And no I am NOT trying to steal him away, I am just beginning the publicity misdirection that you will need. After dinner, we can appaprate to wherever you want and we can begin the next part, and you can tell me just what the bloody hell really happened at Potter manor after the party."

They sat in silence as they quickly finished their meals, and then Daphne stood up to leave. "So, tonight, at Diagon Alley, there is a fancy restaurant about half way down, The Royal Cauldron, should we meet at say half six?" She did not wait for an answer before turning and leaving the pub.


	16. Chapter 16 What is a Lord to do?

**A/N: _Disclaimer:_ I still don't own any of this. Just having fun as my mind wanders...**

Harry just watched the shapely backside of the Slytherin as she walked purposefully out of the pub. Hermione was shocked at the way the young woman had left them.

"You are not going to join her for dinner tonight," Hermione stated as she tried to get her mind around the conversation that she and her boyfriend had just had with the woman who had arranged for the clandestine meeting over lunch. There was silence when she was expecting to hear him state that of course he would not take her up on the plan.

Hermione looked at Harry and then at the door that was closing behind where Daphne Greengrass had just left the pub. "You are going to go through with this?" she asked in dismay.

Harry reached out and took Hermione by her hands. "Let's just think for a minute about this. She may have a point here. Kingsley already indicated that I am to be promoted to a glorified desk job. It already seems that I am not being allowed to do anything as far as investigations go. If what Greengrass says is true, then the ministry will not willingly give me any information about the investigation."

"But Harry, you're one of the best Aurors they have. Perhaps better than either Shacklebolt or even Moody. They can't just put you on the sidelines," Hermione added, sounding to Harry as though she was trying to convince herself more than Harry.

"I don't think that Shack would intentionally have me sidelined," said Harry with a sigh. "But there are others in the ministry who may be trying to get their own agendas addressed. Just because I defeated Tom Riddle does not mean everyone wants me around. I am sure there are still supporters of the Death Eaters who are around, and those who opposed him may just not want the one who defeated Voldemort to be anywhere near the ministry."

Harry paused as he considered more about what Daphne had said to them earlier. "You know, 'Mione, there are no other lords that I am aware of who work as Aurors. Then there is the Daily Prophet. I am actually surprised that there has not been press yet about something going on at the Potter Manor, with all of the investigations going on."

Hermione was trying to take this all in. She could tell when Harry was making his mind up to do something, especially when she thought he was not thinking things through carefully enough. "But how can you just take her word for all of this? She is a Slytherin, after all, so how can you trust her?"

Harry laughed slightly at this comment. "Come on now, you're beginning to sound like Ron." He smiled to make it clear to her that he was not upset with her. "Look, I'll head back to the ministry offices, try and get more information and see if what Greengrass stated about no one giving me any information is correct. Let's plan to meet at Gringotts at three. That should give me some time to find out just what help I can expect from the DMLE and the ministry and then we can find out from Bill if any if my properties are safe. And then I'll have to plan on having dinner with her, but not if I find out she's wrong about the ministry."

Hermione bit her lower lip as she considered what Harry was telling her. For his part, he could tell how this whole situation was really getting to his girlfriend. Finally he added softly, "I really hope you aren't going to be jealous of me having dinner with her, after all, to me it is only a business meeting. She's the Ice Queen of Slytherin. Besides, half of the guys at Hogwarts were sure she doesn't even like boys with how she never had a single date our entire time we were at school."

Hermione giggled slightly at the comment as she was trying to calm her own nerves. "And what did the other half of the guys say about her then?"

"Well, as she was in Slytherin House," Harry added with a grin, "either she was related to a Death Eater or she'd just as likely kill any guy for looking at her let alone take her on a date or even dare to touch her. Her Ice Queen glare could chill anyone's soul and make them quiver in fear."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, and then she asked "And just what did you think, Mr. Potter?"

Harry smirked, "I figured she must have decided not to date anyone if she couldn't publicly hang around with a certain Gryffindor with a stylish lightning bolt scar on his forehead."

Hermione slapped his shoulder lightly. "Prat. We both know you had absolutely no self-confidence back in school. And if she did even look at you back then you probably would have worried what sort of trouble you were going to get in to if a Slytherin girl was actually paying any attention to you."

"You know me too well, dear," he replied sheepishly. He then leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. Then he continued, "So I'll just take care of the tab and then I'll head back to the ministry. See you at three?"

Hermione stood up and pulled Harry in for a longer kiss. "See you at three, scar head," she said with her own smile.

* * *

><p>Harry had returned to the DMLE and tracked down his boss. Gawain Robards had a simple office, minimal decorations, only a small picture of a bride and groom which Harry had surmised was Gawain and his wife. Harry considered how sparse the room was, not having really paid much attention to it before today. He sat himself down in the chair across from Robards' desk.<p>

"So, Harry," said Gawain with a large smile, "have you started to get settled in your new office?"

"Actually, no," said Harry with slight frown. "I'm just not used to this working here but not working idea. I thought I was doing a pretty good job as an Auror. Now it feels like I have been demoted."

Robards nodded as he steepled his hands together. "I can understand that Harry," he said. "I remember moving out of active work as an Auror and coming to this desk job as something that I initially thought would be great, but the excitement of the actual work as an Auror is something I too discovered I miss." He paused momentarily and did not let Harry interject, "but we already discussed the importance of your new position."

"No offense, sir," Harry spoke simply, trying to keep any hint of anger out of his voice, "but I would not call that conversation a discussion any more than I would consider gravity being an option. Clearly we have a different opinion on the necessity of my new role."

Robards gave a faint smile, "But at least I expect your full cooperation with this change."

"It won't be easy," sighed Harry, "but I'll find a way to make this work. Now, I was hoping to get up to speed on what is going on with the investigation about the events from this weekend. Where are we with that? Any leads?"

"We are proceeding with the investigation, Lord Potter," Robards answered stiffly and with uncharacteristic formality. "You are going to have to be patient, while our department does its job."

"But what about the analyst who inspected the wards around the manor?" asked Harry, ignoring the chill that settled in the room.

"Jonas Peters is away on vacation," replied Robards solemnly. "I understand he will not be available until next week to discuss his findings. His report has been reviewed by multiple people so far and there are no irregularities to report. Patience is important here. You know how we work, how these things go. And you can be sure we will get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible."

"Who has been assigned to this case?" asked Harry, trying to gather some useful information.

"We have top people working on this," assured Gawain.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Top people," was the simple reply.

Trying to hide his frustration, Harry excused himself and left the office. He made his way to the administration level as he sought out the Minister for Magic. Harry was not surprised to be told that Shacklebolt was in the midst of an important meeting. Harry thought about some of the things that Daphne had told him about the ministry, and he decided to see what he could get away with. He decided to see what his title could do for him, and he spoke again to the receptionist, "I am sure that the Minister is quite busy, but Lord Potter is equally as busy, but I can make the exception to my schedule and I will wait here for him." Harry stood impassively in front of her desk and he made sure he spoke calmly and did not use any threatening tones. His mannerisms clearly indicated to the assistant sitting in front of him that Harry was not going anywhere and that he would wait as long as necessary. Having the Boy-Who-Lived who was now a lord standing in front of someone did have its desired effect as the disquieting situation finally caused the assistant to look at the minister's schedule book and comment, "He should be ready to take a brief meeting shortly, I think I'll go check on him now."

Harry smiled as he thought how just his quiet presence was able to intimidate some people. A moment later he was being ushered in to the minister's office, and Harry was not surprised to find that he and Kingsley were alone.

"Good afternoon, Harry," came the jovial greeting from the tall dark man as he offered his hand. "What can I do for you today?"

"Kinglsey," smiled Harry as he took the proffered hand and then sat down across from the minister, "I was hoping that you could shed some light for me on what is going on with the investigation about the attack on me and the stance magics that were used at my manor recently."

Shacklebolt frowned as he replied, "Has Robards not been keeping you up to speed? I have not received any news come across my desk recently. I have not learned anything more. Is there a problem?"

"The problem is in not being allowed to really do anything about this," Harry complained, working to keep sincerity in his voice. "You were an Auror, and you know what it's like, you know how important it is to stay on top of an investigation and you know the thrill of working as an Auror."

Kingsley leaned back into his chair and sighed as he responded, "Yes I do, Harry, my young friend. But as I can no longer work as an Auror as I have new duties to fill, neither can you. I am sorry that it has to be this way…"

"But it does not HAVE to be this way," Harry interrupted. "I am a good Auror; you know that, I'm one of the best in the department. No one wants to have the Gryffindor Golden Boy on their case. No sane wizard or witch wants to face off against the Defeater of Voldemort. So why won't the department let me do my job?"

Shaking his head slightly, the minister continued with the same excuses, "You are not just the golden boy, you are a Lord and you are a hero to all of magical Britain. We can't have you doing anything foolish or rash. The first time something untoward happens to you in the line of duty the whole wizarding government will be easily toppled. The people won't stand for it. For our own society's sake, you need to not be working as an Auror. It is just the way things have to be."

"So, all that is really left for me to do is to become a spoilt rich young lord throwing money away, having parties and making the ministry happy? I am now relegated to being just a figurehead for the ministry for publicity? I can think of better ways to spend my time and my money," added Harry dryly.

"I am sure you can," said Kingsley with a serious and calm tone. "I know that this must be hard on you, but this is really all I can offer you. I am sure that Robards will keep you fully informed on all developments."

Harry stood and as he exited the minister's office, he did not hide the sarcasm from his closing words, "I am sure he will, minister." Upon leaving the Ministry of Magic Harry headed straight for Gringotts where he knew he had a meeting with Hermione and the goblins. He was hoping that Bill Weasley would have some useful news.

* * *

><p>Hermione was already waiting for Harry to arrive at the goblin bank. She was surprised by the irritable mood he was in as he walked into the lobby. She walked up to him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips as a greeting and as a comfort. "Did it really go that badly?" she asked as her worry showed on her face.<p>

Harry gave a slight nod to indicate that indeed, it had gone quite poorly. The two were almost immediately greeted by a goblin teller. Harry quickly stated that they had a meeting with Softclaw and with William Weasley. The goblin immediately bade them to follow him as he brought them to the conference room that was already prepared. In the comfortably furnished room sat Bill and Fleur as well as Softclaw around a large table with several empty chairs. Harry noted that there were several guards silently stationed around the room. As Harry and Hermione took their seats, the guards silently left the room and Harry was sure that they were taking up positions just outside every entrance into the chamber they were in.

"Thank you Lord Potter for meeting with us today," spoke Softclaw.

"I am honored that you would meet with me personally and so quickly," replied Harry. "And please, call me Harry, all my friends do."

"Very well, Harry," smiled the ancient goblin. "Mr. Weasley has some information to share with you about your properties."

Bill gave a slight nod to his mentor and then turned to speak to Harry. "Well, Harry," said the curse beaker, "We have determined that the wards on Potter Manor have definitely been tampered with and the magic used to affect them is quite powerful. This was not a quick and easy job. The other Potter and Black properties all seem to be fine, we found no obvious problems with any of the wards, although the safety wards around 12 Grimmauld Place leave a lot to be desired."

Harry and Hermione were both surprised to hear that. "Other than the Manor and Grimmauld Place, between my holdings as Lord Potter and Lord Black, which one of my properties would you say would be the safest and most secure home would be that I own?"

"There are a couple of options," answered Bill. "There is a small cottage that was used rarely in the summers by the Potters and then there is a flat in Bath that the Black family had acquired many years ago, it has been empty for some time." Bill rifled through some parchments in front of him. "These properties could be readied for your living in them rather quickly. The flat can be secured within hours from now, including adding a secure and private connection to the floo network. The cottage should be ready by tomorrow. We can add a Fidelius Book for each property."

Hermione looked at Bill with a slight puzzle. "What is a Fidelius Book?"

Bill smiled at the idea that Hermione Granger had not heard of this recent development. "Like the Fidelius Charm, it is a ward that allows the owner or secret keeper to give people knowledge of the location of the protected building. The list of who knows about the building can be changed by the secret keeps or more appropriately the book keeper. Names can be added to the book or removed from the book without any recasting of the spells."

"Who has the book?" asked Hermione. "Where is it kept? Who has access to the book? Does the book have to be in the house or property? Does it also protect the wards of the property form being tampered with?" Her questions came rapidly. Softclaw gaped in surprise at the verbal onslaught, Harry chuckled quietly at her typical barrage of questions, and Bill simply held up a hand.

"Slow down Hermione," he added with a smile. "The book is in the possession of the secret keeper, typically the owner of the property. This book can be kept either on the person, in the home or guarded property, or even here at the bank. It is even possible to keep the book at any other location. Only the keeper of the book is allowed to change names in the book. And yes, even the wards on the property are protected from most attempts to change them. So, if Harry had the cottage or the flat protected with such a device, then if he wanted Gringotts to upgrade the wards he would need to give permission for the particular warder supplied from Gringotts to have access to the wards."

Hermione thought for a minute about this, and then she asked further questions. "What happens to the charms if something, untoward, were to happen to the secret or book keeper?"

"A secondary book keeper can be named when the book is created," added Bill, giving a sideways glance at Harry, who was shaking his head slightly at the thought of some further horrible fate befalling him. "Or, if there is no surviving bookkeeper, as all bookkeeper records are kept here at Gringotts, then a curse breaker could open the book and name a new bookkeeper. This would incur additional expense to the owner of the dwelling being guarded, however and to answer your next question, if you trust your personal assets to the protections offered by Gringotts and our vault system, then you can be assured of safe keeping of all bookkeeping records by Gringotts Security."

Softclaw smiled slightly as he listened to Bill seamlessly add the slight sales pitch at the end of his answers to the human woman's questions.

Harry spoke up, "I would like the Fidelius Book established for all of my properties please, starting with the cottage and the flat. Eventually we will need to add it to the Manor after your investigations are complete. I understand from my earlier conversation with Bill that this may take some time to discover due to the multiple ancient languages used in tampering with the protective wards."

Softclaw signaled for a goblin to join them. He spoke quietly in Gobbledygook and then turned to Harry as the other goblin left. "It shall be done as you have requested. We will have two Fidelius Books brought here shortly. Also, we can at the same time add portkeys that can transport you through the wards. One for each property or one portkey with multiple activation options to select which property you would like to be transported to, if that would be preferable."

Harry thought about this quickly, and then asked a further question. "Can I have multiple such portkeys created? One for myself, one for Hermione, and perhaps one for a friend of mine?"

"Of course, Lord Potter," answered Softclaw.

"Just Harry, please," corrected Harry.

The goblin who had been summoned earlier returned with two books. Softclaw spoke with him quietly in their native language again, and he quickly left. Turning back to the humans at the table, the goblin master curse breaker slid the two books across the table to his client. "Now, Harry, all you need to do is write your name on the inside cover of each book. The first one will be keyed to the Potter Cottage and the second will be keyed to the Black Family Flat. Then starting on the first page you may enter the names of those to whom you give permission to enter the property and know of the properties existence. Just adding their name to the book does not automatically give them knowledge of the property, that still needs to be given to them by you or even by someone else who's name is in the book."

Harry took the books. Immediately he wrote his name inside the front cover of each book. He then wrote several names in each book. Hermione Granger. Daphne Greengrass. William Weasley. Fleur Weasley. Neville Longbottom. Kingsley Shacklebolt. He paused, and then he showed the list of names to Hermione, as he silently asked her if there was anyone else she felt he should add to the list. He noticed the slight narrowing of her eyes at the name of Daphne Greengrass, but that was not unexpected. Clearly Hermione was still not ready to trust the woman, but Harry knew he could always remove her name at any time. Quietly she shook her head to indicate she did not have any other names she thought should be included in the list.

Harry then slid the books back to Softclaw as he said, "These names should do for now."

"Very well," answered Softclaw. "The portkeys you requested should be ready in a couple of hours. While the bank will be closed for routine business by that time, you are free to wait here or meet us in the lobby at that time."

"When will the Black Flat be ready?" asked Harry.

"You can contact your house elves and have your belongings and necessities moved at any time," answered Softclaw. "The floo connection will be tied in with the Fidelius Book, so only those names in the book can access the floo. The completion of the warding should be done within the hour."

"That is most efficient, my friend," said Harry. "Now, would it be possible for Hermione and I to have some time to discuss some things in private while we wait?"

"Of course, your lordship," said Softclaw as he stood to leave and made a slight bow to the young couple. "These walls do not have ears, and all you need to do is knock on the door behind you once and you will be escorted back to the lobby. Please, take as much time as you need." The master curse breaker then turned to Bill and Fleur, "I do believe you still have plenty of work to do with the curses and wards, do you not, Mr. Weasley?"

Shortly, Hermione and Harry found themselves alone in the room.

Before Hermione could make a comment, Harry cut her off. "I know what you're about to say, 'how could I have already added Daphne's name to the books?' But you know I can easily remove her name. She doesn't even know about the properties until I tell her. It might come in useful."

She glared at Harry none the less, "And I suppose the third portkey will be for her as well?"

"I am not sure," he said honestly. He knew he could not lie to Hermione. "I think it might be useful to have an extra port key for emergencies, or to give to someone if we need to. This whole affair is getting complicated. No, its not the same as having Riddle and all of the Death Eaters after me and spending years at school with someone always coming up with new ways to endanger my life, but at least while we were at school we quickly learned who was after me. We still do not know who is behind what happened. I doubt it was just Cho, she couldn't have done any of the wards, and I doubt she has the connections to do all of what happened. Someone else must be using her to get at me. And we still don't even know why."

Hermione walked over to Harry and embraced him with a hug. "I am sorry; I know that this must be even worse on you. You finally seem to settle into your family manor and then you find yourself kicked out of your own house. And yes, I know you defeated a Dark Lord, but I am still worried about you. About us."

Harry hugged her back. "I know, it has almost been like one of our adventures at school, things happening that can't be explained and no one in authority willing to help us. We really should be used to this by now," he added with a cheeky grin.

There was a brief silence in the room as they hugged. Then Hermione stepped back as she spoke again. "You really are going to go through with this dinner tonight with Greengrass?"

"Yes, for several reasons," answered Harry. "One, she was right, I am getting nothing anymore from the ministry. Two, even if it creates apparent bad press for me; we have handled worse press before. Besides, you and I know the truth, and we don't have to worry about what others choose to think or say. Three, it can easily be explained as a friendly business related dinner, but the press won't buy that. Four, Daphne indicated that this bad press for her will help her. When have you ever known me to shy away from helping someone, even if it meant trouble for me?"

Hermione bit her lip then she answered, "back to your saving people thing again, are we?" She gave him a smile and then another hug and a kiss.

"You expect me to change so easily?" he asked with a smile. "Now, we'll wait here until we get the portkeys. Then I'll meet up with Daphne for dinner, and you can get the house elves to help you get what you need from you flat and move into the flat in Bath. I'll meet you there later tonight."

"Should I expect you to bring the Ice Queen with you?" asked Hermione.

Harry was surprised at this comment. "Why? Do you want her to spend the night?"

She slapped his arm, "Don't be a prat!"

It was not too much later that the goblins returned with the port keys that were keyed to the various properties which Harry owned, and they quickly explained how to activate them. Harry kept two and gave the third to Hermione. "See you at the new flat later tonight," he told her as he gave her quick kiss and then headed off to meet his 'date' for dinner in a very public place.


	17. Chapter 17 Dinner with Greengrass

**A/N: usual disclaimers...I own nothing other than the plot ideas that differ from cannon...and I do believe this definitely differs from cannon...read, enjoy, comment if you would like...**

Harry summoned up his Gryffindor courage as he left Gringotts and proceeded to head down Diagon Alley to the restaurant where he was to meet Daphne Greengrass. He wondered if this really was the right thing to do. Hermione was worried about his doing this. He had a vague idea that he would regret this come tomorrow, particularly after the expected article is published in the Daily Prophet. But then he reminded himself that this was to, at least in part, to help out Greengrass, even if she was a former Slytherin. His internal arguments continued to rage. She was a Slytherin, a housemate of Draco Malfoy and all the others that seemed to enjoy harassing him and torturing him throughout six years at Hogwarts. But then he did not recall her ever being involved with any of the typical Slytherin "it's us against Harry Potter and the world" nonsense. He knew Ron would tell him he could never trust a Slytherin. But she did ask him for help, and as Hermione continually pointed out Harry did seem to have his "Saving People Thing" and she clearly needed help. A certain part of his mind tried to remind him that too often he would just rush into things without having a well thought out plan — only fools rush in — he thought.

"Wake up and watch where you going, Potter," snapped an icy voice. Harry brought himself out of his internal debate as the woman's voice registered and he realised he nearly walked right into a tall blonde woman. His brain seemed to disengage as he took in the site before him. This tall blonde woman with lustrous blonde hair cascading to just below her shoulders had eyes of icy steel blue that were captivating. She held herself with an air that conveyed that she was better than those around her. Her every womanly curve was clearly accentuated through the tight red dress that would have looked appropriate on an actress on a muggle actress on a fabled red carpet. Stunning was a very accurate description for the appearance of the woman in front of him.

"Potter, breathe," commanded Daphne Greengrass. "As soon as you are done ogling me in public, I think we should head into the restaurant."

Daphne then reached out and took Harry by the arm and proudly walked him into the restaurant. As they entered she spoke to the maitre d', "Our table should be ready for us already." Her tone made it clear she was making a statement that had better be correct. The maitre d' was about to protest and then he glanced at the couple in front of him. "But of course, Lord Potter and Lady Greengrass, right this way."

Daphne grinned as they were shown to their table which was near the main window but set slightly apart from the rest of the tables. She was determined that she would be noticed with Harry Potter, and so far she was getting what she wanted. They were presented with the menus and Daphne leaned in close to Harry and spoke softly, "While we are here there will be many people trying to overhear our conversation. If I lean forward and whisper, such as this, that will be when I am actually communicating to you things that are important, otherwise anything else is just to give the readers of the press some juicy gossip." As she looked up at Harry she noted that his brow was furrowed with worry. "Relax, Potter, I told you that this was part of the deal." She gave him a sly grin. Harry noted how it made her blue eyes glow with the radiance of sapphires. He shook that idea off and he tried to casually look around the room where they were. He quickly decided that was a mistake as almost every eye in the restaurant was focused on him and Daphne.

He leaned forward and whispered back to her, "Why do I already get the feeling that this will be a mistake, a huge mistake."

She winked at him, "Why, don't you trust me?" she asked aloud clearly not caring if her comment was overheard. She smiled slightly at the slight blush that this brought to Harry's face. "I do have the information which you were asking about, and I think that you have already discovered that much of what I told you is true." She paused and then leaned closer, "The ministry is not going to give you this information. You are officially off of the case in every way possible. By the way, do you have any idea what happened to the guy the ministry sent to check your wards?"

Before Harry could answer, the waitress arrived and the two leaned away form each other. After quickly selecting a bottle of wine and some appetisers they began their conversation again. "I heard he has been on vacation," said Harry, as he emphasised that was what he had heard, making it clear in his tone that he did not believe the story. Daphne reached forward and gently took his hand in hers as she leaned forward one more time. "No vacation scheduled," she whispered to him. "He has been missing since the day after he checked your wards. Quite suspicious, I would say, as there has been nothing in the press about this."

Daphne sat back into her chair and waited quietly for the waitress to return with the wine. She picked up her glass and casually swirled the white-yellow coloured beverage in her glass. She was enjoying the discomfort that Harry was showing form time to time, but she knew she had to get him to relax. She leaned forward one more time as she quietly spoke to him, "You do understand that for this whole charade to work for me, you actually have to at least look like you're enjoying yourself with me, whether or not you do so by drinking too much wine or not, I personally don't care, but I need this to be convincing enough to the press."

Harry leaned back as he carefully planned his retort. "What exactly I am accomplishing for you tonight? Aside from casting aspersions on both your character and mine."

"With the right kind of press generated from our little outing here tonight," smiled Daphne, "I hope to prevent the marriage contract which my father has been negotiating with a Bulgarian Baron, or was it a Dutch Duke? Look, I have no intention of getting married to some old man from Europe just so that my father can make a better standing within his business world. Messing up this marriage contract he is working on may cost him hundreds of thousands of galleons, but I intend to make certain choices for my own life. Something which I get the feeling that your precious Granger would understand."

As their meal and their time together continued, Daphne shared more of the information which she had already gleaned from her sources around the Ministry and form within the DMLE. She had also been able to convince Harry that she was correct in her assumption that there was no way that the Ministry or the DMLE would knowingly allow him to do any real work again as an Auror, especially if it had anything to do with his case. Harry did get to learn a little more about the Slytherin woman who he was dining with, including some brief stories of her childhood. After she finished sharing a little more about her own background, she asked Harry about his own childhood. "I doubt that anything in all of those children's books about the Boy-Who-Lived had anything to do with reality, particularly as you still seem a little clueless at times when it comes to functioning within our magical society. So, would you care to tell me any of the truth about what your life was like?"

"Not here," he answered quietly. "Not with too many ears around, especially when you have been trying to orchestrate for so much of our conversation to be overheard. Another time, perhaps."

"Is that an offer for a second date?" she asked with another large smile. Changing the subject slightly, she leaned in closer again as she asked with a more serious tone, "Where are you staying now that you can't exactly use your manor?"

Harry wanted to be absolutely sure that he was not overheard as he answered her question so he leaned forward to whisper into her ear, "Either my flat in Bath or the Potter Cottage. Both have secure access through the floo network, and you are currently allowed access to both homes. Only a few people have this privilege and most of them don't even know it yet."

Harry fumbled with the spare port key in his pocket and decided that he did not want to give it to her, at least not yet. He looked around the room and he could have sworn that there was a large blue beetle crawling across the main window not far from where they were sitting. Harry was sure that the events of this evening would be all over the Daily Prophet in the morning, and probably in Witch Weekly by the weekend, but he did not want to even begin to guess just where the fall out would land.

Before too long, Harry and Daphne were finishing their meal. They arose form their table and headed out into the street and through the thinning crowds of Diagon Alley in the evening. Harry was sure that all of the eyes in the restaurant were following them. Wanting to end the evening as soon as possible at this point, Harry took Daphne's hand as he grasped the port key with his other hand and he softly stated 'Potter Cottage.'

After the usual feeling of being pulled by a hook through their navel they came to land in front of a small cottage that in the growing dusk seemed quite charming. Actually, the cottage seemed quite charming to Daphne before she realised that her companion was currently sprawled on the grass in front of her. She raised an eyebrow as she regarded Harry as he picked himself up off the ground and began to brush the dust off of his clothes.

"I still haven't quite got the hang of these landings," he said with a slight blush.

"And where exactly are we?" asked Daphne.

"The Potter Cottage," answered Harry as he began to look around. "Actually, I've never been here before, but as Hermione is currently getting our things moved into the flat in Bath, I figured the easiest way out of Diagon Alley was to head here." Harry led her to the front door. As he was reaching for the door knob, the front door opened on its own, recalling a house elf wearing a slight smock with the Potter Family crest.

"Good evening, Lord Potter," greeted the elf cheerfully. "I amDarryl, the house elf assigned to the Potter Cottage. It is so good to have the family returning!" He was starting o bounce on his toes with excitement over having someone to serve again. "Since the goblins established the new wards, we have been anxious for your arrival, Lord Potter, sir."

"Thank you for your kind greeting, Darryl," Harry said with a smile. "However, I do not wish to upset you but we are only here for a moment. I will be heading back to my flat shortly and Miss Greengrass, here, will be returning to her home momentarily."

The elf began to frown.

"No, Darryl, you have done nothing wrong," added harry quickly trying to stave off a fit of angst from the house elf. "I will be returning soon, with another friend, to look at the cottage in the day light. But right now, we both have important things we need to get back to elsewhere."

Harry and Daphne entered the small home and were pleasantly surprised by how charming it seemed. The lounge was simple, had a couch and a several sitting chairs. There was a fireplace on one wall that Harry assumed was attached to the flu network. They took a brief self guided tour and found a dining room with simple but elegant furniture and a kitchen that appeared to be well equipped. Harry thought back to his days making meals for his cousin and his aunt and uncle on Privet Drive, and considered how much more enjoyable it would be to work in a kitchen as nice as the one here in the cottage, his cottage. He shuddered briefly though as he thought about his childhood. The shudder did not go unnoticed by Daphne. She reached a hand out to gently grasp his arm.

"Is something wrong?" she asked with sincere concern.

"No, nothing's wrong," he said, controlling his emotions that surprised him. "Everything seems like it is just fine."

Daphne was not so easily persuaded, "I don't believe you for a minute Potter. You don't have a reaction like that walking into a gorgeous kitchen if 'nothing is wrong', so don't play me for a fool."

Harry turned and looked at her carefully. "Well, it is nothing that is important and nothing I am about to discuss with anyone," he added, hoping that he did not sound too harsh in his reply. From the way she withdrew her hand, Harry guessed that his tone was too harsh, but he was not about to say anything more.

The two then ventured through the house, and found there were four rather nicely furnished bedrooms in the upstairs. After returning to the main floor, they saw that there was a deck out back, but as it was getting late they knew there was little they would see of the yard. They made their way back into the lounge and Daphne reached into the handbag at her side. She pulled out an envelope filled with papers and Harry realised she must have a charm on her bag similar to what Hermione used on her beaded bag when they were on the run tracking down the horcruxes.

"Here you go Potter," she said as she handed him the envelope. "This is all of the information I have gathered for you so far. I am sure you will want to take some time to review it carefully, but I think you may be surprised about what the Ministry knows and what they are willing to let you know."

Harry looked at the envelope and then back at Daphne. She noted the concern on his face.

"Harry, I am not expecting anything more from you," she said with a smile. "The dinner tonight was actually very enjoyable, and under different circumstances I would really have like to had a dinner date with you. But there is bound to plenty of fall out tomorrow over the events of tonight and I am hoping that the fall out will include what I need."

Harry could see the pain in her eyes as she thought about her situation.

"For what it's worth, Potter," she added before Harry could say anything, "I really am sorry for the effect that this will have on you. I know you hate publicity and fame, and I know you and Granger can ride the storm out over the publicity, but if this leads to my being free from an unwanted marriage contract, then I will owe you so much more than some leads on information from within the ministry."

There was an awkward silence. After a minute Daphne leaned forward and gave Harry a kiss on his cheek. "You know, Potter, I often wonder if Granger truly appreciates what she has."

With that she turned and grabbed some floo powder from the small tin canister near the fireplace, tossed it in and quietly spoke the name of her flat as she stepped into the flames.

Harry looked from the envelope to the floo and then he simply grasped the port key in his pocket and said, "Black Flat, Bath" and then he disappeared from the cottage.

Harry arrived in the entry way of the flat. His sudden appearance startled Hermione who was straightening up the room. Harry noted her surprise as he also looked around the flat. "You've obviously been very busy," he said. Then he turned and walked towards her to greet her with a hug. He was taken aback by the stiffness of her response. "What gives?" he asked.

"Just how do you expect me to feel when you go off for a very public dinner with a beautiful witch and leave me to straighten up our new home which you haven't really even seen yet?"

"Well, that answers my first question," Harry said flatly.

"And just what question is that?" she asked sternly.

"Are you jealous of my having to spend time with Greengrass," he answered, carefully avoiding her first name. He stepped closer to her and gently placed his hands on Hermione's shoulders. "You have nothing to be jealous about, truly. She may have pretty blue eyes, but they do not have the richness of the chocolate brown of yours, and the depth of understanding yours have." Harry paused and look directly into Hermione's chocolate eyes and then he continued. "To me, this was nothing more than a simple business meeting. I have an envelope of information which she obtained, I waited to look through it until I was back with you. We need to be strong, because we know that the Daily Prophet is about to attack me again. But Daphne, er, Greengrass, she thinks the publicity will have the desired affect of derailing the betrothal contract that her father is working on. That is all she wants out of this."

Hermione relaxed a little as she gazed up into Harry's emerald eyes. "How can you be so sure? How do you know that is all she wants out of this?"

"Because I am sure of one thing through all of this," smiled Harry, "and that one thing is you, or you and me. Ever since we got together I have been sure it was the right thing. I could not have imagined us getting together back when we were in school, back when I thought of you as the sister I never had. But as I told you before, that all started to change during the time we spent searching for the Horcruxes. You've never left me side, you've never failed to support me through everything that has happened to me. You are the only one who has always been there for me, Hermione, even if you didn't agree with me or my decisions, I always had your support. That is not something I can ignore. To me, that means everything. And some cute blonde who throws herself at me is not going to distract me from what I know I have in you."

Hermione leaned her head onto Harry's shoulder. "Thanks, I don't know why I needed to hear that," she said softly. "Now I feel foolish."

He kissed her forehead, "Don't," he commanded gently, "there is no point." Then speaking a little louder he added, "So, do we start looking through this tonight, or do we wait for the morning?"

"Perhaps we best wait," she answered. "Your room is made up already, I'm almost done with mine."

Harry eyed her curiously over this comment.

Hermione glared at him slightly, "You know I said I was waiting until I am married before anything like that happens."

"I know," Harry answered, "but I was hoping that we could at least have a little closeness during the night."

Hermione gave him a tight hug, "I understand, but I am not ready for that. Just because we've been thrown together here suddenly and having to rearrange our lives, or your life anyway, on barely a moment's notice, well, I just think we need to be extra careful."

Harry kissed her forehead again, and handed the envelope to her, "Then I guess it would be best for me to turn in and we can get a start on this in the morning, after we get the Daily Prophet."

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><p>Harry woke up as the sun began to rise. He walked slowly into the kitchen of the flat as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He could smell the pleasant aroma of bangers and eggs cooking. As he stepped in to the kitchen he was expecting to find Hermione working at the stove, but in stead he found Darryl, the house elf from the cottage.<p>

"Is Master Potter ready for breakfast?" asked the elf in a tone that was all to chipper for how Harry felt this morning after having a difficult time with sleeping.

"Umm, I guess so," he stammered in response. "But why are you here?" asked Harry as he tried to clear his foggy brain.

"Lord Potter has returned," exclaimed the elf, "and you left shortly after arriving at the cottage. I tracked your port key to the Black home, here, and I was surprised that there was no signs that any elf had been here for years. So I tried to help out. Is master Potter angry with this elf, sir?" asked the now worried elf.

"No, no," he replied quickly, " I am not angry at all, just surprised to see you here," he added reassuringly.

"Lord Potter's lady friend is not up yet," spoke the elf, continuing the conversation, "but I can have food ready for her at any time."

"Well, that is thoughtful of you, Darryl," said Harry, "but please do not call me master or lord, just Harry will do fine."

"Very well, Just Harry," answered the house elf, "and you may be happy to know that your lady friend is now up and will be here shortly."

Harry shook his head at the new name the house elf had given him. He heard the soft footsteps from behind him and he turned just in time to greet Hermione with a hug and a soft but quick kiss on her lips. "Good morning," he said with an overly cheerful grin.

Hermione returned the brief kiss and then stepped back a moment. "Relax, Harry, I'm not going to over react to your having a house elf making us breakfast, well at least not this morning. I'll give you some time to get this whole house elf thing straighten out properly and I'll spare you my usual rant about elvish rights."

Harry smiled briefly, then it quickly turned to a frown. "Wait, why am I being spared a legendary Granger lecture?"

Hermione gave Harry a wry smile, and then answered, "Because I know you of all people have heard that particular Granger rant more than anyone. Besides, I am still tired and we have to deal with so many things today. But given time, I am sure you will do the right thing."

Harry was unsure of how he should respond to that comment, but quickly he came to the conclusion that it would probably be best to not respond to it in any way. "Right," he finally said, "we should just enjoy our breakfast and start reviewing everything Greengrass gathered for us."

The two then sat down at the dining table and ate their breakfast as they reviewed the various documents that Daphne had included. Some were copies of reports made by the DMLE during the investigation, some were just conversations overheard written in quotes. Harry was initially surprised that there was very little information in the form of clues as to who may have altered the wards, other than the mention of Jonas Peters being on vacation and unavailable for questioning. Sifting through the information, Hermione found a document indicating that there was no formal approval of any vacation time for Peters. She also found various information that supported their supposition that people were deliberately not sharing any of this information with Harry. Harry paused to think about the information that they were reviewing.

"Hermione," he asked obviously focusing on some detail of information, "what document did you find that indicated that Jason Peters had not been approved for vacation?"

"I think it was from the investigation or prosecution department of the DMLE," answered Hermione as she started to sift through the papers again. "Doesn't Malfoy work as a prosecutor?" she asked.

"Well, his position is of a junior prosecutor," answered Harry with some obvious bitterness in his words, "but he has been involved in a number of prosecutions against accused Death Eaters where they ended up getting off, sometimes on a technicality."

"You're not suggesting that Draco would intentionally risk his job and allow them to slip through?" gasped Hermione.

"I am not sure what to think," answered Harry. "But it's not like I go looking to strike up conversations with him at work. I know the last year and the end of the war changed him, and I am glad for that, but the years of antagonism we shared at Hogwarts is not forgotten so easily."

At that point, Darryl, the house elf popped into the room. "Just Harry," he said with a grin, "here is today's edition of the Daily Prophet, just as you requested."

The house elf handed the magical newspaper to Harry, who took it and slowly unrolled the paper to look at the headlines and articles on the front page…

**A/N: (replies to comments)**

** Spring Raine: For now this is HP/HG - there will be more revelations about relationships as things continue**

** Whatweareafraidof: it will be revealed soon why Ron has not appeared in this story so far...**

**As usual, I appreciate any and all comments...**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Sorry for the long time in between updates. I wanted to get more of the story done, but it is evolving in ways I had not anticipated. I appreciate the reviews and the comments and such.**

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><p>Harry opened the newspaper and glanced at the headline.<p>

**Lord Potter - Boy Who Lived now Man Who Loved?**

**By Rita Skeeter**

_The young Deputy Minister for Magical Investigations was noted by this reporter to be out and about in wizarding society. Our hero during the recent war and ultimate defeater of the Dark Lord may be something of a legend to modern day witches and wizards, and appears that this may all be going to his head. It is widely known that he has been seen publicly at recent events with his accomplice for many of his famed events, Hermione Granger, who has been hanging onto his arm as she tries to cling to whatever fame she has left from the war. Well, dear readers, perhaps she has been cast aside like so many who have been friends of the young Lord as he revels in his fame as he was seen cavorting with the heiress to the Greengrass fortune and businesses, none other than Daphne Greengrass. The two young lovers had been spotted together throughout the day in Diagon Alley and other sites, culminating their day of romance and fund with a romantic dinner for two at the always fashionable and expensive "Silver Cauldron". _

_The Lady Greengrass was absolutely stunning in her red dress which accentuated every reason why she would be a clear distraction for the Lord Potter. My sources tell me that they discussed a variety of topics throughout their meal, from marriage and marriage contracts to real estate and summer homes. The happy new couple clearly were trying to avoid any publicity, but when news such as this about a new power couple in our society reaches the ears of this reporter, I just knew that my loyal readers all deserved to hear the truth…._

Harry could no longer continue to read that article. Then his eye caught another headline.

**Granger - Winner in War, Loser in Love?**

_Has the bright young witch, Hermione Granger, part of the "Golden Trio" from their glory seeking days at Hogwarts Academy, lost the leader of the light, Harry Potter, in a love triangle to the Lady Greengrass? Can this young witch not hold on to a man of her own for very long? We all know the story from the end of the last war, how the Granger and Ronald Weasley were an item and then when he was trying to make his own in the Quidditch Premier Leagues she lost him to his current flame, Romilda Vane…._

Again, Harry was not wanting to read any more into the stories. He knew that the Daily Prophet was planning to get as much publicity out of the events of the previous night. He knew that he and Daphne would be dragged through the mud over this but he was hoping that Hermione would be spared, and now it was clear that he was wrong. He stared at the paper, wondering how to tell her, when she walked into the room, glanced over his shoulder and looked at the headlines.

"Well, Daphne was right, you would make the paper," she said flatly.

"We weren't the only ones," answered Harry.

"Mind if I have a look then?" she asked, more intrigued.

"Only if you forgive me for going through with this when you're done reading," he said softly.

"How bad can it be?" she asked, then gently took the offered paper and she began to read.

After a couple minutes of tense silence, Hermione spoke, and she was calmer than Harry had expected. "I see that the bitch Skeeter didn't even put her name on the by-line when she decided to drag my name through the mud as well."

Harry eyed her carefully, waiting for her anger to blow. But instead he saw a calm expression. She noticed his staring and realised that he must have been anticipating a much more severe reaction.

"Harry, it will be fine," she said as she placed a hand on his. "We knew she would attack us, at least you and Daphne. That why we did this. We have read worse lies about you and me in the past. This is nothing. Well, nothing more than part of a plan, even if I don't fully see where this is going to take us or how this will help anyone other than Daphne."

Harry grinned, "I am almost surprised to hear you say that. But I have to agree with you, as I am not sure where this will lead at this point. But we will have to follow up with Daphne about this, plus I will ahem to make an appearance at the Ministry. Publicity doesn't do any of us any good if we don't go out in public."

Hermione gave Harry a brief kiss on his lips, and then offered to meet up with him at lunch, and that perhaps they should have a very visible lunch together in Diagon Alley. Harry raised an eyebrow at her comment.

"Just because Daphne gets all of this publicity about supposedly ending our relationship that does not mean that I can't be seen with you. Besides," she added with a smirk, "you and I having lunch together publicly will only add to the rumours and give Skeeter more to write about." Hermione then sat back down in her chair at the table as she started to eat her breakfast that the house elf had prepared for them. She then opened the paper and started to read through the other articles it contained, half expecting to find some more dirt on either Harry or herself. Her eyes stopped on an article that caught her attention.

"Harry, it says here that another 'acquitted' Death Eater was found dead in his home yesterday."

Harry stopped eating his toast and looked over Hermione. He swallowed his food quickly so as not to do an impression of his former mate, Ron Weasely, and then asked her "Who? How? What does it say?"

Hermione quickly perused the article. "It seems that it was a ministry worker, by the name of Fieldings. He had been acquitted during his trial due to 'not enough evidence'. Let's see, it says that Malfoy was the prosecutor in his case. No obvious use of magic in his death."

Harry thought about what Hermione had just read to him. "That's at least the third 'supposed' Death Eater to be found dead in the past several months, isn't it?" he asked.

"As I recall," she answered, "they all had mysterious deaths and I think they all had been prosecuted by Draco. He has had a number of the minor Death Eaters escape convictions when he has been prosecuting them. Some people think he is purposely letting them off."

"Really?" asked a surprised Harry. "Well, they obviously don't know Draco very well. Having had to work with him over the past few years, he is not the same ponce who tried to control Hogwarts for his first five years there. The war changed him."

Hermione put the paper down and looked at Harry. "So, now we've read the sensational stories, what is next on the agenda for today?"

"I do have to make an appearance at work this morning, which I am sure will be entertaining," he added.

"Entertaining for who?" she asked. "You seem to be enjoying this too much, Mr. Potter. Is it the attention from Daphne or the excitement from all of this publicity?" Hermione surprised herself by the question she asked him.

Harry raised an eyebrow, wondering if she was truly upset with him or maybe even jealous of his brief evening out with Greengrass. "With all of the negative publicity I have had over the years, and with so much of my life having been manipulated by others, it is entertaining to once be doing more of the manipulating."

Hermione studied him for a minute before thoughtfully responding, "I can see that. But you do hate having the attention drawn to yourself, so it will probably not be as entertaining as you might think."

"When have any of my plans gone the way I have expected them to in the past?" he asked rhetorically, as they both knew how often their plans had blown up around them in the past. "As long as I don't have to resort to an escape on the back of a dragon today, I think I'll be all right."

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><p>Harry arrived at the offices of the DMLE and immediately noticed the murmuring going on around him. Obviously either everyone had read the Daily Prophet or at least heard about it. Several of the young witches working at the Ministry of Magic gave him glances that indicated they felt he was more available now than they ever thought before, as he had just apparently had a date with someone other than Hermione Granger. Others looked at him with disgust for breaking Hermione's heart. But no one had yet had enough bravery to even say anything directly to the young lord.<p>

Upon arriving at his desk, he was almost immediately greeted by a growl. His boss was none too pleased with him. Harry was not sure he had ever heard Robards growl, at least nothing this fierce or this early in the morning. "Get in to my office now." It was a simple statement, but the anger that coated his words was evident to any who heard them.

Harry followed the obviously irate man to his office and silently took a seat in front of his boss' desk.

"Does their seem to be a problem sir?" asked Harry staying calm and acting completely bewildered by Robards' anger.

"Have you not seen the Daily Prophet this morning?" he asked as he threw a copy of the magical newspaper on his desk in front of Harry.

Harry did not move to pick it up, let his eyes glance at the cover and then back at Robards. "Why yes, I have read the paper today. Is this about the acquitted Death Eater deaths, sir?" he asked simply. "I only just became aware that there have been several of these occurrences."

Robards just stared at the young man in front of him. Before responding to the question he glanced back at the newspaper and then back at the former Auror, now Deputy Minister for Magical Investigations. Then a thought occurred to him, one which he realised should have occurred to him when he first read the morning newspaper. His expression softened, even if only slightly, but Harry noted the slight change. "You knew about this, didn't you?" he asked, but he did not wait for an answer. "You've orchestrated everything that's going on, haven't you?"

"Excuse me sir?" asked Harry. "Are you accusing me of having something to do with the deaths? Obviously I had nothing to do with Fieldings' death. I wasn't involved with his investigation or trial."

Gawain initially was about to correct Harry's presumption that he was talking about the supposed Death Eater. Then he let a sly smile cross his lips, even if only briefly. Quickly he added, "Learning how to use your personal life as an alibi? Should I be worried about you, my young friend?" Robards' face became a mask of seriousness once again. "I've worked with you too long to not know you well enough by now to understand that you have something going on that the newspapers aren't telling everyone. Whatever you are up to, I need you to do your job."

Harry returned a sly grin. "And what exactly is the job of the Deputy Minister for Magical Investigations? I have never seen a job description and the only clear directive I have been given is that I am no longer an Auror." Harry did not hold back the glare he gave Robards over the change in his job title and job responsibilities.

"For now, your job description is to attend the meetings I ask you to attend. And we have a meeting with the magical branch of MI-6 this morning, and I need you at that meeting. And I do not need a circus environment." Gawain Robards pulled the paper back off of his desk as he looked at Harry for some sort of reply.

"I know I have had to juggle a lot of investigations in the past, and I have been previously been accused of clowning around on the job…" Harry let the sentence die there, running out of quick circus jokes off of the top of his head.

"I will expect you at my conference room at 10, that's this morning, and be sharp," added the DMLE director dismissively. "And try and stay out of the paper for the rest of the day."

Harry went back into his office and thought to himself, "Well that went reasonably well." As he was turning the corner to the hall where his office was, he nearly bumped into a blonde man walking the other way.

"Watch where you going you fool," snapped the tall blonde who nearly dropped a stack of papers.

Harry looked at his former adversary from his school years, and made a brief apology. "Sorry about that Draco, If I had known it was you I was about to bump into I probably would have made sure you dropped everything and knocked you down for good measure."

Draco stared at Harry for a brief minute, then answered with a grin. "Next time I might have to just hex you in the back."

"You've tried that before, Malfoy," Harry added with a laugh. "So where are you rushing off to?"

Draco smiled at Harry's reply to the threat of the hex, "Just getting some more information together on the case I am about to prosecute."

Harry then thought about Draco's previous investigations and prosecutions. "If you've got a minute or two, I need to ask you about some of the cases you have worked on." Draco started to frown at that comment. "Take a few minutes to indulge an old enemy and new friend, let's step into my office."

Draco looked at where Harry was indicating. "When did you move your desk to an office?" he asked with a slight smirk.

"When they took my job away from me and made me some sort of Deputy Desk Jockey," Harry added.

As the two friends stepped into Harry's new office, Draco looked around the sparse room. "Nice job redecorating, how long did it take you to come up with this scheme?" he asked dryly.

"Plain white walls with no pictures or anything?" Harry asked. "It's been my life long dream to get a job where I have to make public appearances, sit in on meetings and have no real responsibilities. The empty walls kind of completes the entire picture."

Draco grinned at Harry. "So when did you get to start living Ron Weasley's dream life?"

Harry's face dropped, all humour left him. He stared at Draco for a moment in shock.

Draco realised he pushed it to far. "Sorry mate, didn't mean to spoil the mood by bringing him up." After an awkward pause, Malfoy continued, "So what did you need to talk to me about?"

"Your last several prosecutions." Harry said flatly.

"You mean the last three acquittals?" Draco asked, his mood obviously turning sour. "Don't you start on me too about supposedly letting them off. You of all people should know how I truly feel about this."

"I do, which is why I am asking you as a friend," added Harry trying to calm the rising anger and frustration that Draco was experiencing, "what do you know about what happened to them after they were acquitted?"

Draco initially started to relax, but started to tense up all over again. "I am aware that they have all died, in various non magical ways." There was a silence in the room. "Are you implying, Potter, that I had something to do with their deaths?"

"No, I'm not imp;lying anything," added Harry. "But it is only a matter of time before someone else starts to wonder about the association there."

Draco shook his head in disgust. "I'm accused of going soft and letting them off the hook for being Death Eaters because my father was one…"

Harry cut him off, "You did take the Mark yourself."

"But now that they are dying I am now seeking revenge against them for making me look bad professionally?" finished Draco. Harry nodded. Harry knew this double bind feeling. Draco looked at Harry and noted the concern on his face. "You of all people would understand this, wouldn't you Potter?"

Harry simply nodded again. It was apparent to Harry that Draco knew nothing about the cause of death of the three acquitted Death Eaters. That the three were all Death Eaters was something that neither Harry nor Draco ever doubted as they knew too much about that group. But apparently not enough that helped make all of the accusations stand up in court. Draco soon realised that his friend was not accusing him of anything, only looking to see if he had a clue as to who was behind the deaths.

"No, Harry, I don't know anything about what is happening to those men who got off," he said simply. "Not to say that I am sorry to hear of their deaths, but I have no idea what is going on. But now with three of them, it sure seems suspicious."

There was an awkward silence in the room for a few minutes. Finally Draco broke the quiet. "So, you and Greengrass? What happened with you and Granger?" sneered Draco as he made an obvious reference to the front page of the Daily Prophet.

"Nothing happened between Hermione and me, we're meeting for lunch later today," answered Harry, who then continued, "and there is nothing going on between Daphne and me, we had dinner together last night, the Daily Prophet made more out of it than there really is. You know they always do that when a story involves The-Boy-Who-Lived."

"Keep telling yourself that, Potter," smiled Draco, "and I might even believe you except for one slight problem."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "And just what might that be?" he asked as his curiosity got the better of him in response to Draco's jab.

"You've never been on a first name basis with _Daphne,_" he stated simply. "In fact, I don't recall you having any real contact with her at all before, so something odd is going on."

Before Harry was able to respond, a house elf popped into the office. Harry noted that it was wearing a fancy cloth with the Greengrass coat-of-arms. Draco looked at the elf and then looked back at Harry. Before Harry could say anything the house elf began to speak in a tone much more formal than Harry had ever heard from Dobby or Kreacher.

"Lord Potter," spoke the elf softly as its eyes grew wide as it addressed the famous wizard in front of him. "I apologise on intruding on you at this time, but my master, Lord Cyrus Greengrass, has sent me, Tibbs, the Greengrass family's senior elf, to inform you that he requests, no demands, your presence at a meeting with him at a neutral ground, such as Gringotts, in 30 minutes. I was instructed to not wait for your reply." With that simple but clear message, the house elf vanished with a slight pop.

Harry was staring at the empty space where the house elf had just been standing.

Draco broke the silence and gave an awkward laugh. "Well, mate," he began to speak slowly, "perhaps the first thing you need to add to your new office is a wet bar. I'll bring the first bottle of fire whiskey, and we can share it after you get back from Gringotts, that is if you survive your encounter with that man."

Harry looked at Draco, directing his anger at being ordered around by a man he had never met to the one person sitting in front of him. "ANd just why would I show up to a meeting that was demanded of me like this?"

Draco paused and thought about how much Harry was actually ignorant of within the magical world. "The man's family has always been in Slytherin. Yet he stayed neutral through two wars against Voldemort…"

"Riddle," interrupted Harry, "Tom Riddle is, or was, his name. Voldemort was a silly child's anagram to scare the weak-minded."

"Whatever, but it worked," continued Draco. "But it did not work against Cyrus Greengrass. He never took the mark, and Volde-, I mean Riddle, never made him do it and never placed him under the imperious curse. Keep that in mind before you think you can bully him in any way. He is a business man, and a very successful one at that."

"What is the business of the Greengrass family?" asked Harry.

"Imports," Draco said simply as if that would explain everything. Harry gave him a blank expression.

"Imports, for anyone, for anything." Draco finished. "For muggles, for wizards. If you want or need something, he would find a way to get you what ever you wanted. Officially he has an importing company in the muggle world and he has a simple shop of unusual items within the magical world. But everyone and everything has a price. If you don't know what the price is, Lord Greengrass can tell you what it should cost you and what it will cost you. The two numbers are rarely the same."

Harry thought about this for a moment. "I never thought Greengrass sounded particularly like a Sicilian name," he said aloud.

"What does that have to do with anything?" asked a confused Draco.

"Nothing really, just thinking about an old muggle film from the states," Harry said with a grin.

Draco muttered "whatever."

"Damn," exclaimed Harry. "I have to meet with the MI-6 representatives shortly, and there is no way I can be at Gringotts in 30 minutes."

Draco laughed at him. "Only you Potter could have your life turned upside down from having dinner with a beautiful woman. And that on top of your recent promotion. Now what is it exactly that you are supposed to do here as Deputy something for somebody?" There was a short silence and then Draco continued. "Just as I thought, you have no real responsibility anymore here. So, I can make up some sort of excuse for you when I meet with the MI-6 representative shortly while you go save your hide."

"Thanks," said Harry, "I think. Well, I'll track you down later after I get back from lunch after I have my meeting with Greengrass."


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: I know it has been a long time since I updated this story...Moving On is still being worked on, but I found some motivation to get this story back on track. It took a while for me to review the plot so I knew where I was so hopefully I have not created any internal inconsistencies within my own story. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

><p>Gawain Robards gave Harry a sly grin as he left him at the door of the conference room. Harry was about to enter, when he noted the smile on Robards' face.<p>

"Care to explain?" asked Harry simply.

"You thought you were getting an easy time of it, being pulled off of all of those investigations and getting a cushy job with an office," answered the director. "Let's see how you do trying to hold your own with these MI-6 types. They may be muggles, but they will probably tear you to shreds."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Why should I worry about these people? It's just a simple meeting."

"Tell me that when you're done," replied Robards who then turned and walked away.

Harry sighed quietly and then he opened the door and went into the conference room. There were already several men in dark grey suits sitting around the conference table. Harry did not recognise anyone. Then he noted that at the head of the table sat a stern looking woman who appeared to be in her late fifties or early sixties, white hair, thin lips.

"It's about time you got here, Mr. Potter," she said quietly, but her tone was such that it could have been a snarl. "Have a seat and we can begin in earnest. It seems that you have made an impression on your superiors, something about having won a war single-handedly a few years back. Well, in this room, we can't afford for anyone to rest on their laurels. We have a mission to do and that is to protect the people of this country."

Harry felt dutifully chastised by the woman and he didn't even know her name yet, nor did he know anyone around the table. He was still wondering just what the bloody hell he was doing here, and as he took a seat, a compartment on the table in front of him opened up revealing a folder with the information that was being discussed.

The woman turned to the man sitting on her right. "Now Tanner, can you please update everyone on where we stand with this current investigation."

Tanner nodded and then he opened the folder in front of him and he turned to the first page. "If you would all kindly follow along, I will try to summarise what we know so far. Ever since agent 008 was killed last year, we have been receiving these threats to MI-6. Agent 008 was believed to have been killed in an explosion at the warehouse in Glasgow in June of that year. Out investigative team discovered that the explosion was actually caused by the magical curse known as fiend-fyre causing the tanks of propane on the outside of the building to ignite with deadly accuracy." Tanner looked suspiciously at Harry. "Since that time, this individual who has identified themselves only as The Lord Eris. There have been occasional messages that have arrived at MI-6 headquarters, via magical means, that have repeated threats against those who stand in his or her goals."

Harry was puzzled. Someone claiming to be some sort of dark lord was apparently responsible for the death of an MI-6 agent via magical means and then they have used magic to convey further threats. Harry finally spoke up, "Just what are the stated goals of this Lord Eris?"

Tanner glared momentarily at Harry. "If you would turn to the next page in the folder, you would see that this Lord Eris has not made their goals known, only that those who would stand in their way would meet an unfortunate end."

Harry scowled slightly as he turned to the next page. There were no demands being made other than to not interfere. But interfere with what? Other than blowing up a building and killing an MI-6 agent, what else has this person done?

Harry then voiced his questions. "But other than killing this agent 008, what has this Lord Eris done?"

Tanner threw his folder on the table. "Other than killing an agent? Does someone's life mean so little to you?"

Harry's irritation with the whole situation began to show as he snapped back. "I didn't think we were here to discuss Agent 008's murder, but the activities of Lord Eris. A single murder through blowing up a warehouse is not something that either MI-6 or the DMLE need to be involved with. So I ask again, why are we here?"

He woman at the end of the table glared at all of them. "That is enough out of you two." The room fell silent under her eye. She turned to Harry and she began to explain just why they were meeting. "From everything we have been able to discern this is a magical making attacks on a non-magical."

"It has happened before, and even on a larger scale," scoffed Harry, "and I don't recall any help from MI-6 in dealing with Tom Riddle and his Death Eaters, so I still am left wonder, why now? Why worry about this Lord Eris?"

The other men at the table looked dumbfounded that Harry actually voiced such a question.

Finally, the woman who was clearly in charge, spoke. "Because Mr. Potter, this time this mysterious Lord has targeted an M!-6 agent and has enough knowledge of our organisation that the various threats are arriving in our own offices. How a magical person would be able to achieve this is a question we have not been able to answer."

"Perhaps they gained the information from one of your own agents," suggested Harry.

"A possibility which we have already considered and ruled out. None of our current agents are magical, and any agents with any knowledge of the magical world are accounted for, or are dead." The woman's lips seemed to be even thinner as she stared down Harry at the end of her pronouncement. "You are considered one of the most powerful wizards around at this time, considering your personal exploits, so we are looking to you for answers on this mystery. Who is this Lord Eris? How could they have access to MI-6, and just what are their goals that they want protected?"

"And your agents have not been able to answer this question for you?" asked Harry.

"Obviously not," replied the woman. "Out agents with knowledge of the magical world have only been able to conclude that someone from within the magical world will be able to track down this individual, and the one most likely to succeed would be you."

Tanner then spoke up again, "As I was saying earlier, the information you need is in the folder in front of you."

Harry picked up the folder and was about to stand up and leave.

"The folder cannot leave this room," added Tanner.

Harry grunted slightly at this. "Very well," commented Harry seeming disinterested. He put the folder down on the table, leaving it open with the papers all askew. He then walked over to the door and as he was about to leave, he quietly muttered, "accio papers," as he pointed his wand at the folder. The folder remained on the table and Harry deftly caught the papers, folded them and quickly stuck them inside of his pants pocket. Then he added so everyone could hear, "It's okay Tanner, the folder is still in the room."

Harry quickly walked down the hall before anyone could catch up to him and found an apparition point. In a moment he appeared at Gringott's Bank. He quickly cast tempus, noted the time and muttered to himself, "Well, I have only kept Lord Greengrass waiting about thirty minutes. I wonder how much I may have angered him by now."

* * *

><p>The conference room that Harry was escorted to was simple but elegant. The floor was ornate stone, the walls were a lift grey marble which were polished to allow the light to easily reflect off of them. There was a small oval shaped table in the centre. At one end of the table sat a gentleman that Harry guessed to be about 6 feet tall and easily 200 pounds. He was wearing a muggle style suit. His hair was slightly grey, and he had a neatly trimmed goatee. The goblin who had brought Harry to the room quickly introduced Lord Potter and Lord Greengrass and then immediately excused himself. Harry was grateful that neither one of them had a wand as he had no idea how this meeting would progress.<p>

Lord Greengrass stood and silently eyed Harry. After a moment he spoke tersely, "I have been waiting for over half an hour for you to arrive, Lord Potter." Harry was almost intimidated as he realised that Lord Cyrus Greengrass stood at least 6 feet 4 inches and he clearly was not someone who did not like being upset by anyone.

Harry knew he was running late, but he also knew that the House of Potter had a higher standing in the magical world than did House Greengrass. Harry had learned a little bit of magical etiquette due to a quick lesson from Draco, and he answered without any anger in his voice. "My apologies Lord Greengrass, but I was unavoidably detained." Harry knew that to offer any further of an excuse would imply that he felt that Lord Greengrass deserved more of a response.

Cyrus Greengrass then took his seat and Harry sat down across from him.

"I presume that you understand exactly why I called you here, Lord Potter," stated the man.

Harry stared down the older wizard and met his gaze. "I would guess that it may have something to do with a certain article in the Daily Prophet," he answered evenly, doing a good job of masking any emotional response.

Lord Greengrass tried to return the glare before he responded. "Of course it has everything to do with that bloody article." He paused to see if his outburst had rattled Harry, who did not respond in anyway. This irritated Cyrus Greengrass. "Do you have any idea what you have cost me, boy?"

The bellowing of Daphne's father was now starting to irritate Harry as being called "boy" by a blustering old man only served to remind him of his Uncle Vernon. Harry shook himself to remove that image from his mind. He quickly calmed himself before he responded to Lord Greengrass. "Milord, I was not aware that my taking your daughter out to dinner cost you anything. While it was an expensive meal, I was fully able to cover the bill for the evening. So," Harry added calmly, "I am not sure what you mean by what I have cost you." Internally Harry realised that he did have the cunning to have been successful in Slytherin, and right now he was grateful for that.

The complete innocence of Harry's response caught Cyrus off guard. He was expecting the young man in front of him to become defensive or yell back at him, not respond with apparent ignorance. He also realised that his yelling at this young man was not getting him very far. Cyrus took a deep breath, and then he continued slowly. "Now, you listen here, young man…"

"That's Lord Potter," interrupted Harry.

Cyrus took another deep breath. "Very well, _Lord_ Potter," he added with obvious exacerbation. "I received notification this morning from the gentleman who had recently completed negotiations with me for a marriage contract involving my daughter, Daphne. As the result of seeing those photos of the two of you cavorting he has cancelled the contract. That contract would have brought me several hundred thousand galleons. It would have led to an expansion of my business. You have cost me greatly."

Harry was expecting something like this, based on what Daphne had explained to him. "That's all she is to you? A means to a business deal? Does your daughter's future happiness mean nothing to you? Does your daughter's wants or needs or desires mean so little to you?"

"My daughter's future happiness would be secured by her being married to a successful wizard," stated Cyrus Greengrass. "But you have made her appear to be damaged goods, to be nothing more than a common whore the way you two were carrying on. And that has cost me greatly."

Harry was seething inside at the way this man in front of him had relegated his oldest daughter to the means of brokering a business deal. He calmed himself before he replied to Lord Greengrass. "If that is all she is too you, then I will gladly make reparations. I will pay you for your lost income if you would let your daughter live the life she chooses."

Lord Greengrass raised an eyebrow at this. "You then wish to enter into a marriage contract with my daughter?" he asked, and it was clear that he had no expected this. Actually, Lord Greengrass wasn't sure what he expected out of this meeting, but he had been hoping to intimidate the young Lord Potter but so far all that he had accomplished was to lose his own temper at the young man.

Harry had not expected to be asked such a question. "I like your daughter very much, we are friends. I am not sure that I would at this time go to the point of saying I want to marry her," Harry replied not sure how the conversation had arrived here. He had started this all to help Daphne avoid an unpleasant marriage contract. He figured she would probably kill him if he did this. Hell, Hermione would probably kill him. Harry was close to panicking at this time as he was feeling he was getting in way over his head. "However, my offer still stands, I would be willing to pay you for your lost income, if you agree to keep this meeting between us private, and that you tell no one that we have come to any sort of arrangement."

Cyrus Greengrass quickly considered Harry's offer, and he equally as quickly realised that it was an offer he could not afford to pass up. "I think that such an agreement would be acceptable to me. I will have my solicitor draw up the appropriate paper work."

Harry nodded in acceptance. "In that case, I will await to hear from you further." Harry decided to emphasise the proper relationship between their houses as he added, "The Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter looks forward to hearing from the House of Greengrass." Harry quickly considered that he may have left out the appropriate house status for Lord Greengrass, and if he did so it may be taken as an insult or as a slight against the man and his standing. But either way, Harry had made it clear that the House of Potter was clearly of higher standing than the House of Greengrass and he hoped that would be enough to settle this debate for now.

"You shall hear from me within the week," added Lord Greengrass.

* * *

><p>Harry was happy to be back at his manor, having a quiet meal at home but Hermione and Daphne both were eager to hear the details of his day. At least Hermione was anxious to hear about his day, Daphne just seemed plain anxious.<p>

As they were sitting down for their meal, Harry turned to Daphne. "So, what has you so worked up today? People at work on your case about the article in the Daily Prophet? I thought that's what you wanted to happen, get publicity about being seen with the Boy-Who-Lived."

Daphne exhaled slowly, then she started to talk, and Harry noted she had tears forming in her eyes. "I expected that people would talk. I counted on colleagues to 'ooh and awe' over my 'big date' with Harry Potter." She paused momentarily to regain her emotional coolness as she considered the other events of the day.

Hermione spoke up and commented coldly, "So, you didn't enjoy the attention as much as you though you would after all?"

Harry eyed Hermione closely, surprised to detect the bitterness in her words.

Daphne looked at Hermione and shook her head slightly, trying to keep her emotions hidden again. "No, it wasn't the comments from the co-workers at all. It was the howlers. The screaming red envelopes that showed up throughout the day, calling me all sorts of names. Calling me 'trash' for breaking up Harry and Hermione. Calling me a scarlet woman." She paused briefly to retain her composure. She looked at Harry with a slight smirk when she added, "I had no idea that the Weasel's mother knew certain words or would even use them in a howler that would be overheard by over a dozen people."

Harry shook his head in disgust. "I'm sorry to hear that Daphne," he added sympathetically.

Hermione wasn't sure what to say, and for once decided to stay quiet.

Harry then asked Daphne if she had any more information for him.

"Well, it appears that this Jason Peters fellow just up and left for somewhere in eastern Europe and he has not been seen since," commented Daphne.

Hermione rubbed her forehead as she tried to figure out how this was relevant. "SO he was not away on vacation?" she asked for clarification.

"No, apparently he just up and left," explained Daphne. "He had made arrangements for international floo travel for somewhere in eastern Europe, but I have not been able to get any more details. But I'm still working on it," she added.

Harry turned to Hermione, "So how was your day?"

"Between women trying to make me feel better and offer moral and emotional support, and then guys trying to hit on me thinking I am now available," commented Hermione, "I think my day went pretty well." She turned and glared at Daphne, "No thanks to you though. Oh, that's right, it is all due to you."

Daphne sighed. "I thought you had the backbone to put up with it, and from what I've seen, I thought that your relationship could easily weather this storm. So sorry, Granger, but there will be no apologies coming from me tonight."

Hermione asked Harry about his day.

"Other than being brought into an investigation with the muggle MI-6 on a new dark lord who may be targeting muggles and former death eaters, nothing terribly exciting happened today," he said calmly.

Daphne ignored the comment about MI-6 as she exclaimed, "I am sure that my father must have contacted you by now."

Harry nodded as he answered her. "Yes, and we met."

Daphne was surprised he hadn't said anything yet. "Well, and then what happened?" she demanded.

"We met and we discussed things," he said softly without emotion. "You should be happy that part of your plan has already worked. It appears that the business connection has fallen through as well as the marriage contract."

"It was really that simple?" asked a surprised Daphne.

"It was," he stated with a matter of fact tone, "especially after I offered to help cover the damages from the lost business deal."

Daphne hung her head in her hands as she mumbled, "Oh no, this could be worse."

Harry was now the surprised one. "How could this be worse? Your father said he would send me a proposal for settling accounts by the end of the week."

Daphne looked at Harry and she seemed to have some fear in her eyes. "Just wait until you see what his proposal will actually be," she said softly with a slight catch in her voice.

Hermione wasn't sure how to respond to this new development, but she couldn't let go of what Harry had said about MI-6. "Were you serious about working with MI-6? You mean secret agents?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "Of course I am serious. Apparently some magical dark lord killed one of their agents and they think this person may also be behind killing the death eaters who have been acquitted."

Hermione was surprised to hear this. "But why would someone attack an MI-6 agent and then also hunt down acquitted Death Eaters? What is the DMLE doing about this?

"Well, the DMLE is doing nothing about this," said Harry as he considered his words carefully. "MI-6 is looking into the death of their agent. But they all seem to have overlooked some of the information. The agent was killed in explosion that was caused by fiend-fyre. There was nothing left of the building really afterwards. But why would a magical kill a muggle indirectly with magic. They even magically sent a confession and a warning to MI-6, but they have not made any mention to the DMLE about this. And then the Death Eaters, they have all been killed by non-magical means. No evidence of spell use or magical potions. And these started after this agent was killed."

Hermione puzzled about what Harry had said. "But why would you think they are related? There is nothing else you have said that would make them connected."

Harry frowned slightly. "It seems that there is nothing to suggest that the incidents are related. But I just have a hunch about this. Nothing has been adding up lately, between those incidents, the attack on me with the cursed gem, and the disappearance of Peters, and the apparent disappearance of Cho Chang."

"She hasn't been seen or heard from?" questioned Daphne.

"Not since the party here at the manor," answered Harry.

"So what do you propose next?" asked Hermione, wondering where Harry was going with this.

"We try and find Cho, or Peters," he suggested.

"I'm up for that," said Daphne, clearly excited.

Hermione glared at her.

Daphne noted the response from Hermione and then she shook her head as she explained her reaction. "Look Granger, I am not just going to sit idly by at this time. I told you that I was getting involved to save myself. And one date and the appearance of a one night stand is not going to convince anyone that Harry and I are really an item. Besides, if the goal is to track down whoever tried to influence Harry with that cursed gem then Harry needs to be acting more like the person from those dreams or hallucinations."

Hermione was surprisingly speechless in response to Daphne's comments. Daphne picked up on the shock and continued, "What is the big issue here really? I don't really feel the need to worry about some muggle secret agent, what ever that may be, having been murdered. I also am not about to start losing sleep over someone killing Death Eaters who somehow managed to get off. But this business with Harry and the personal attacks on him, that is troublesome. Since it somehow has involved you, Granger, you should care about that. The question left before us is just how do we help Harry get to the bottom of this?"

Hermione was more than a little irritated at this. "I'm sorry Greengrass," she snapped as she reverted to using surnames as Daphne had done, "but I fail to see how this involves you."

Harry was starting to blush from the embarrassment of having these two argue in front of him.

Daphne ignored Harry's reaction, and continued to argue with Hermione. "Because I owe Harry for his rescuing me from the bloody awful marriage contract my father was trying to force on me. And for that, I will help Harry solve this mystery of who is trying to attack him. If someone is trying to make Harry Potter dark, I want to know who, and I want to know why."

Harry finally felt that he had to intervene. "You two need to calm down. I think that we need to sleep on this and work out what we're going to do next. The three of us are in this together. I have meetings tomorrow with MI-6, so we'll talk more about this after dinner tomorrow night."

* * *

><p>Harry walked into the conference room with the representatives from MI-6, this time Gawain Robards joined him for the meeting.<p>

Tanner spoke up first, addressing the woman at the head of the table. "Mum, we have reviewed the information that the magical task force has been working on since before 008's unfortunate demise. We have reason to believe that she was working on leads that would uncover possible terrorist activities being planned by magicals on the normal British population."

Harry was startled by this comment and could not keep quiet. "Excuse me, but your organisation has a task force that is investigating magicals? How long has this been going on and why were you not helping us in our battle against Tom Riddle? Also, I take offence with your use of the term 'normal' to refer to what I would call non-magicals. Do you consider those of us who use magic abnormal?"

One of the other men in the room muttered, "Using magic is certainly _not_ normal."

The woman at the head of the table scoffed, "That will be enough of this pointless bickering." She turned to Harry as she continued, "Your war with Riddle did spill over into the non-magical population, but as the magical government had chosen to isolate itself from the British government there was little we could openly do to help, particularly with your own statutes of secrecy. We are currently concerned about continued possible threats against our people and our sovereignty posed by those from the magical community."

Harry was not satisfied with this response. "The files you shared yesterday did not reveal what this agent 008 was investigating at the time she was apparently killed by this Lord Eris. I find it odd that there is nothing in the reports that indicated what Lord Eris' ultimate goals are, other than their determination to not be interfered with by your organisation. I find it odd that this Lord Eris has only contact MI-6 and that neither the Wizengamut, the DMLE or any branch of the magical government has received any communication from this individual, considering they have used magic to kill one person."

Tanner broke into the conversation, "M has given you all the information which we have at hand."

Harry smiled very briefly as he understood that the woman at the head of the table had a name finally, even if it was merely a simple letter. He let that thought leave his mind for now as he engaged in his discussion with Tanner. "So, if that is all the information you have, then why do you need to involve us? I am sure there is more than potential threats."

Tanner sighed, and then after receiving a nod from M, he turned back to Harry. "Agent 008 was working on following up on leads that another member of the Magical Task Force had learned that a new terrorist organisation was recruiting both magicals and non-magicals with the plans to attack both the magical and non magical government."

Harry turned to Robards. "How long have you known about this sir?" he asked.

Robards was slightly pale. "This is the first I have heard of this."

M spoke up, "I know that this has been discuss with your Minister Shacklebolt."

Both Harry and Robards understood that they would get nowhere in this meeting to chase that claim down, other than to embarrass their own government. Harry made a mental note to bring this up with Shacklebolt later, and then he proceeded to try and ascertain just what they did know. "Has this new group come up with a name for themselves? Have they done anything beyond killing one MI-6 agent? Have they made any more threats?"

Tanner turned to face M. M's mouth tightened as she considered carefully how to explain the situation further. "The threats have been made to indicate that they would avenge Riddle for his actions. We initially expected that this would be an attack against the Death Eaters who had supported him. We have shared that information with your DMLE."

Robards nodded, "We have long known that there would be some who would seek vengeance once Voldemort was defeated. We presumed that those were the one's who were taking vigilant action against the accused Death Eaters who were acquitted."

Harry realised he was correct in connecting the events, but he was now frustrated that there were those in the DMLE who may have been aware of this and yet had done nothing about it. Harry spoke his mind openly now, "Are you suggesting that the Minister of Magic condoned this vigilante activity?"

"The Minister of Magic has no knowledge of vigilante activity anywhere in his jurisdiction," stated Robards flatly.

Harry realised that Robards was not being particularly helpful here. He turned to Tanner and M, "What do we know about this terrorist group, other than the leader's self proclaimed name of Lord Eris? Do we know where they are located? Do we know anything about their members? Do we have any idea what they plan to do next?"

Tanner looked Harry in the eye as he answered, "008 was trying to track down their location. It was believed that the warehouse was possibly being used as a staging location."

"Staging for what?" asked Harry. "You have only admitted to their killing 008 and possibly being involved in the deaths of a few alleged Death Eaters who were acquitted."

Tanner looked away from Harry as he continued to explain, "We have reason to believe that they are not based here in England, that they have probably made their base somewhere on the mainland, probably eastern Europe. They may have established themselves with sympathisers from Durmstrang, wherever that may be."

Harry shook his head. "If you find anything else out, please actually keep us informed, that would be most helpful." With that comment Harry stood up and walked out of the conference room.

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><p>Harry was hesitant to share any more information with Hermione and Daphne at this point, as there were still many questions. He did however have some reason to connect the events involving agent 008 with the murders of the Death Eaters. However, he wondered just what he was supposed to do with this information. Robards and Shacklebolt had made it clear that they expected him to have only a desk job. He had more questions he would need to have answered from this group, but they would not be reconvening until the next week. He still needed to understand just what his role was to be on this, and he realised he needed more information about this agent 008 and what the Magical Task Force had been doing. While he finally felt that he was getting answers, he was also finding he had more questions.<p>

Two days later, he received an owl that was carrying a parcel that had some very formal legal documents. The documents had arrived shortly before Hermione and Daphne were to return to the manor for dinner. Harry opened the legal documents and he was not surprised to see that they had come from Lord Greengrass' solicitor.

He began to read the cover letter. It described that the following documents would detail just how Harry could settle the debt incurred by the slander that Harry had caused by his very public actions with Daphne. Harry turned over the cover letter and he read the following document:

Marriage Contract:

_**Proposal of Marriage between Lord Harry James Potter-Black and Lady Daphne Greengrass**_

_**Wedding to take place within the next 2 years**_

_**The Lord Potter will pay price of 100,000 Galleons to the Greengrass Family for the privilege to pursue this relationship**_

_**The Lady Greengrass will be expected to bear at least two male heirs, one for the House of Potter and one for the House of Greengrass**_

_**The Lord Potter will retain the right to take a separate wife for the House of Black if desired and at his discretion**_

_**The Lord Potter will retain the right to have concubines if desired and at his discretion**_

_**Once signed by the Lord Greengrass and the Lord Potter-Black, this contract will be magically and legally binding to the two individuals named above.**_

Harry noted that Lord Cyrus Greengrass' signature was already affixed to the bottom of the document.

"Bloody hell," was all Harry could say.


	20. C 20 - The Education of Hermione Granger

**AN: Obviously it has been some time since I have updated this story….I have been working on reviewing what I have written so I hopefully won't have too many plot holes or inconsistencies. I was not able to find anywhere that I mention what exactly Hermione's job is or where she works. She does mention to Harry at one point that she was embarrassed by comments from women and that many guys assumed she was available, so she must be working somewhere where there are other people, so this must be a department within the Ministry of Magic. Based on her skills and interests it is probably and will make it so for the purposes of this story (and this chapter) that it is in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. (It is where she got her start in canon, not that this story has much to do with canon, mind you.) As LE-DH is winding down, I probably ought to finish this story off before getting started on Moving On part 2 (still working on a title for that one) and my other two stories running around in my head (and running around as outlines on my computer). I am considering removing some of the other unfinished stories of mine from this site because frankly, I just don't think that they will ever get done. (Harry Potter and the Dark Mark - which being my first story is atrocious with some of the writing but has some interesting plot ideas — not sure if I got to the point where Ron actually dies trying to save Harry in that one…it was going to happen if I hadn't written it yet..but I digress.)**

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><p>Chapter 20 The Education Of Hermione Granger<p>

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><p>Hermione was still uneasy with everything that had been happening recently. People were still talking about the articles that had been published in the Daily Prophet, and despite reassurances from Harry she was not sure what to think. At least things were busy at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Apparently there had been a small group of harpies that had gathered off the coast of Wales which had caused quite a stir. The department was still dealing with the fall out over that. Several fishing boats had to be rescued, multiple squads of obliviators had to be called in, and the Office of Misinformation was working overtime to deal with the situation. Hermione was hoping that Situation Harpy, as it had come to be called would keep the attention away from her and that her week would start to improve.<p>

She was about to discover that she her hopes were about to be dashed. Hermione was busily trying to finish some paperwork when there was a knock on her door. A timid voice called in as her door was opened slightly, "Director Doyle wants you in his office, immediately."

Hermione sighed, because when the diminutive bootlicker Jones showed up and wheezed through a crack in your door that the Director wanted to speak with you then it was never good news. She pinched the bridge of her nose to try and fend of the oncoming headache and closed her folder with the parchment she had nearly completed filling out, laid the quill on her desk and made her way to the office of her supervisor, hoping that this would be a simple meeting.

Arriving at the Director's office, the curtain on his office door was closed so she could not see who was inside, she knocked once and the door opened. Her eyebrow raised slightly when she noticed that Daphne Greengrass was sitting across from the director and they both had somber expressions. Hermione stilled her emotions and took a seat across from the director.

"Miss Granger," began the director, "I take it that you know Lady Greengrass."

Hermione nodded politely and Daphne gave a saccharine smile in return with tight lips.

Doyle frowned. "It has been brought to my attention that you have been apparently shirking your duties while on the job, that there has been favouritism, and that there are some pureblood employees within the department who have filed grievances with the Ministry about the way you have been treating others."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "What?" she exclaimed.

"The Investigation Department of the DMLE will began a full fledged inquiry into this matter," continued Doyle.

"Greengrass put you up to this?" questioned Hermione.

"She simply brought down the formal decoration," explained Doyle. "I'm sure it is all just a big misunderstanding, but regulations indicate that I will have to place you on administrative leave, with pay, until this inquiry is completed."

Hermione was speechless. She turned and glared at Daphne.

Doyle spoke up again. "I think that Miss Greengrass has some paperwork for you to review, you can come back later and pick up anything you need from your desk."

The dismissiveness of his comments completely caught Hermione off guard.

"Come on, Granger," stated Daphne simply, with no emotion in her words whatsoever. "I'll have you look over that paperwork upstairs."

Hermione was completely stunned. She stood up and just started to follow Daphne. Everyone in the office just stared in silence as the two women left in silence together. Hermione was just feeling shocked by the turn of events. Once they got onto the lift, Daphne hit told the lift to take them to the lobby.

Hermione then turned to her and snapped at her. "You really are a scheming Slytherin bitch. You're really trying to get Harry. Now you're even trying to get me fired from my job."

Daphne sighed slightly and simply stated, "I know you're angry with me right now, but please, just trust me for a few minutes. I know you don't want to. We're leaving here, the ministry building. We're going out to get an early lunch. No, not to anywhere in Diagon Alley, too many prying eyes. We'll be heading to somewhere in muggle London. In fact, I'll let you choose. Any place you want. Far away from prying magical eyes and ears. And then I'll explain everything that I can."

Hermione stopped and glared at the woman who apparently had just cost her her job. "Fine," she said through gritted teeth. "My choice?"

"Absolutely," smiled Daphne. "I even have a muggle credit card, if you're worried I won't be able to pay." Daphne noted Hermione's questioning look. "My father does business in both the magical and the muggle world. I'm used to being in both worlds. Don't look so surprised."

With that they made their way down the street once they exited from the ministry. Hermione was still quite angry with Daphne at this time, and she wasn't about to speak to her just yet.

Daphne hailed a muggle cab. Hermione raised an eyebrow. "This will keep most magicals from following us," she said quietly.

As the two women slipped into the cab, the driver asked where they were heading. Daphne looked at Hermione for an answer. "I did say that you get to pick where we have lunch."

Hermione bit her lip for a moment, and then she stated "I've always wanted to try the Greenhouse Restaurant, I've heard it's supposed to be wonderful."

Daphne smiled at her, "It is," and then she turned to the driver, "The Greenhouse, over in Mayfair, please."

The cabbie silly nodded and pulled away from the curb. Hermione stared out the window, trying to avoid making eye contact with the woman whom she felt was nearly abducting her. After several minutes of silence she finally whispered "I can't believe all of this is happening."

Daphne gently patted her arm to try and reassure her. "I'll try and explain more once we are seated in the restaurant, but for now, please just be patient, and don't hate me too much."

Hermione turned and glared at the woman next to her. "Too late for that, Greengrass."

Daphne smirked at her companion in the cab. "You're such a Gryffindor, but instead of running into danger, you're making assumptions here when you have very little information. Perhaps you should reserve your judgement on me until after I have finished telling you everything over lunch."

Hermione looked at the blonde woman, and hesitated before she said anything further. "This has nothing to do with the document Harry received from your father?"

"Not really," she answered cooly, "but I suppose that does play in here in a small way. But this has everything to do with the rest of the mess that is going on, and on a larger scale, it has to do with your lack of education on the ways of the magical world."

Hermione frowned at those words.

Soon they had arrived at their destination. Daphne paid the fair for the cab and then they casually strolled down the tree lined walk to the entrance to the restaurant. Hermione was impressed with the atmosphere when they arrived. Daphne quickly arranged for a table and once they were seated she surreptitiously erected privacy wards so that their conversation would stay private, with the only interruptions being from their waitress.

"So what the hell did you mean by the comment that I have a lack of education?" demanded Hermione as they began to peruse their menus.

"Quick with the verbal attacks, aren't we, Hermione," commented Daphne as she took a sip of water. Before Hermione could respond, Daphne continued, "Relax, please, I asked you here as a friend, and I did not mean to insult you with the comment about lack of education. But the truth is, you are woefully ignorant about the customs of the magical world. Including such practices as betrothal agreements, house elves, and muggle born rights."

Hermione was clearly not happy with where this conversation was heading.

"I didn't say you had to like the norms of our society, I just felt that you needed a better understanding of our ways," explained Daphne in a tone that tried to appease Hermione's tense feelings.

"You clearly are not doing a very good job of improving my understanding of anything so far this morning," came the terse reply.

"Fair enough," said Daphne. "Why don't I start with this morning?"

"Yes, why don't you," replied Hermione, whose tone still had some venom in it.

"First, I did not get you fired, you are merely on an administrative leave," began Daphne. "With pay, I might add."

"And that is a benefit to me, how?" asked Hermione.

"I assumed you wanted to help Harry with his investigation," stated Daphne.

"What investigation? He has been given a desk job. Or did you decide to overlook that, or have you arranged for him to lose his job as well?" Hermione was still quite perturbed with her hostess for the meal.

"You know Harry even better than I do, and you should realise by now that being handed a desk job is in no way going to prevent him from finding out what is really going on, particularly after being brought in on all of this MI-6 business now." Daphne leaned back in her seat and let Hermione think on her comments for a moment. Then she continued, "I didn't write the rules the ministry follows."

"But you sure knew how to take advantage of them," snapped Hermione.

"That's the Slytherin in me," she added with a smile. "Look, I really am trying to be a friend, and I am sure you don't feel like it, but hear me out. Yes, I used the pureblood rules to take advantage of the situation and get you placed on an administrative leave. Once this is done, I promise I will work with you within the administration of the ministry to get the archaic pureblood centric rules changed. But for now, you need to be aware that they are there, and they are written to give advantages to people like me, to keep people like you from advancing within the ministry. And yes, they are stupid and short sighted, written by bigoted idiots centuries ago who thought that they could protect their neat little world."

Hermione let out a long sigh at Daphne's words. "You really will help me change the old world rules?"

Daphne nodded and smiled. "Those are the rules and customs that nearly had me married off to some old wizard from Romania or some place, it's in my best interests to see them done away with too."

Hermione started to realise that perhaps she did have something in common with Daphne after all. "So, you are aware of the letter that Harry received from your father, then." It was more of a statement than a question.

Daphne laughed lightly, then paused as their waitress came to take their orders for lunch. The two women quickly pointed out what they would have for their meal, and once their waitress left again, Daphne began to explain that she had assumed her father would make such a demand of Harry after the fall out from the ruined betrothal contract. "I met with my father last night. For someone who has been doing business with muggles and in the magical world for so long, I was actually quite surprised that he was clinging so hard to the old ways and to tradition. He actually had the nerve to tell me, his oldest daughter, that it was just a business deal."

Hermione gasped at that notion. Daphne looked away for a moment to control her emotions before she continued. "I made sure I told him exactly what I thought about his idea of business deals. It's not like he isn't extremely successful in his own right in business as it is."

Hermione started to consider just how much this must have affected the woman sitting across from her, to be treated as a commodity in a business transaction. Daphne had always struck her as an intelligent and self sufficient woman, not someone who would be controlled by anyone. She could hardly imagine how it must have felt to be bargained with in a contract. "I'm sorry Daphne, I just never thought about how this would have affected you, to have to go through what you must have been going through with all of this."

Daphne smiled thinly as she accepted the apology. "I was more than clear about my thoughts on the matter to my father."

"If you don't mind my asking, how did he react?"

Daphne's smile broadened. "I was actually quite surprised with his response. He apologised to me. He listened to what I had to say. He reconsidered what he had been doing. He had been so caught up in following family tradition, especially with having two daughters, that he never once considered that maybe, just maybe, there was something wrong with the way he was going about doing things."

Hermione was now confused. "Then what about the letter that he sent to Harry?"

"He had already sent it out with our owl earlier that day," said Daphne whose smile turned to a frown. "There was nothing he could do to recall the message."

"Now that will be an interesting meeting," mused Hermione.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at the comment.

"Harry's planning on confronting your father at some point today."

Daphne couldn't help but smile at that idea. "Well, that should prove to be interesting, potentially explosive, but interesting nonetheless."

"Hopefully his house elf did mange to get him to take the calming draught that I had left out for him before he left," added Hermione.

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><p>~~~~…~~~~OOOoooOOO~~~…~~~<p>

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><p><strong>Greengrass Imports<strong>

**Diagon Alley**

There was a knock on the door to Cyrus Greengrass' office. The deep voice of the owner of the business called out that he was busy and that he did not want to be disturbed.

"Mr. Greengrass," replied his receptionist, "you have a visitor who is very insistent that he meet with you."

Cyrus Greengrass did not like being interrupted. "Tell them, whomever they are, to make an appointment, and come back later."

"I don't think they are willing to do that," replied the receptionist.

"Unless it's the Queen of England herself, I don't expect to be disturbed," called back Cyrus.

"I don't think Lord Potter is prepared to take 'No' for an answer," came the answer.

"Clear my schedule, Wanda!" he yelled back.

"Already working on it, Mr. Greengrass," she said as he heard some thuds and crashes as he clearly was trying to put things in order in his office.

A minute later the door to his office opened up and Cyrus Greengrass stepped out, his hair slightly dishevelled. "Wanda, could you show Lord Potter in," he said as he looked around.

Harry Potter stood up from where he had been calmly sitting in the waiting room as he listened to the commotion coming from the office from whence Lord Greengrass had just emerged. He bowed his head slightly and gave a thin smile as he greeted him with a hand shake, "It was kind of you to clear your schedule so quickly, especially after your little note earlier."

Cyrus' face turned a litre red at the comment. "I believe we should discuss that further in the privacy of my office where calmer heads may prevail."

Harry noted some beads of sweat beginning to form on Lord Greengrass' brow. An interesting development he thought to himself as he followed the man into his office. Cyrus indicated for Harry to take a seat as Harry looked around and noted evidence of a hastily straightened room.

"Before we begin, Lord Potter, let me apologise now for a hastily written response to your generous offer in regards to the failed betrothal contract on behalf of my daughter, Daphne," stated Lord Greengrass rather formally. "After I sent of the proposal to you, I was chastised rather severely by my daughter. As you may be aware I have had a rather successful time with my business endeavours both within the magical world and within the muggle world. I should have known better to assume that all of y business dealings should follow the traditions of purebloods and made more of a consideration of that fact, and learned to separate family from business long ago."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the introduction to the meeting. "So, I do not need to start my comments with chastising you for your treatment of your daughter in the way you are handling her with the offer of her in a marriage contract to me?"

"Daphne assured me that from what she knew of you that you and your honour would probably bring you to meet with me, with your plan to probably call for an honour duel because you would assume that I was treating her so poorly," commented Cyrus. "Is that the nature of your visit here today?"

"I did come here to have words with you about your presuming that my offer to cover your financial loss would mean that I was paying to own your daughter," explained Harry. "I see that I may have simply been playing into your viewing your daughter as property or chattel, and for that I owe Daphne an apology."

"So, do we find ourselves at an impasse?" asked Cyrus. "Or are we going to move beyond this?"

"You started this meeting by stating that your daughter had words with you last night," said Harry. "I did come here to make sure you knew that there was no way I had any intention of entering into a marriage contract, that I was also not about to be bullied by anyone and that I was not about to be threatened by anyone."

Cyrus Greengrass looked Harry up and down. "I can see that you are a man of your word. My daughter gave me quite the tongue lashing last night. She also gave me a bit of a history lesson. _Your_ history. If the tales she tells of your exploits while you were a student at Hogwarts are even half true, clearly you are not a wizard to be taken lightly. Something I should have taken into account considering the entire magical world knows that you defeated the Dark Lord. It seems that many have underestimated you over the years, and I am simply one of many."

Harry was not expecting such a conciliatory response when he walked into the office. "Perhaps it is a good thing I took that calming draught," he mused silently to himself.

"If I may be so bold, Lord Potter," continued Cyrus Greengrass, "if I may call you Harry, I took the liberty this morning to follow up on some of my daughter's concerns. She shared with me some of the details of your current situation. Through my various business contacts I have come across individuals who can obtain information from shall we say, unusual sources."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "I am listening," he said simply, "and if we are going to be discussing my personal concerns, by all means, call me Harry."

"It seems that the investigation within the DMLE has been focusing on your friend, Draco, and his connection to the acquitted Death Eaters," explained Cyrus, "but there really is no good leads there other than his prosecution of those individuals. There may be a connection between those individuals and the MI-6 case, but the DMLE is being kept in the dark about that. For some reason MI-6 is keeping their investigation very secure. They're not letting out any details."

"That much I already knew," commented Harry. "Now I need a way to get more information from MI-6."

"I really can't help you there," said Cyrus with a sigh.

"So, why the sudden change of heart in dealing with me?" asked Harry.

"As I tried to explain," said Cyrus, "Daphne enlightened me last night, that family needs to be more than business. I lost track of that somewhere along the way. I have worked in both the magical and muggle world for many years, I should have seen that the old ways of the magical world are too out dated to follow the way I had been insisting on doing. Your actions and her words helped me come to an epiphany of sorts. I may come across as a hard man to many, but my family is more important to me than my business, and it took a good kick in the pants from my daughter last night to come to my senses."

Harry was still a little shocked in the turn around in the man in front of him from the previous encounters he had with him. "If that is all sir, I do have meetings I need to get back to at my office."

"I'm sure you do, Harry," Cyrus said as he stood up and shook Harry's hand. "Oh, and Harry, if there is anything that either I can do, or if there is anything that may be of benefit to you from my connections with my business, then do not hesitate to let me know."

"Thanks for the offer, Cyrus," replied Harry as he turned to leave.

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><p>~~~~…~~~~OOOoooOOO~~~…~~~<p>

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><p><strong>Greenhouse Restaurant<strong>

**Mayfair**

Daphne took a sip of the wine that they had ordered with their lunch. "Now, Hermione, you really do have more important things to spend your time worrying about than house elf rights and how to explain to muggles how a group of harpies destroyed a few fishing boats off the coast of Wales."

Hermione took a sip of wine, and was momentarily surprised by how much she enjoyed it. She should have known better, of course Daphne would be a wine connoisseur she told herself. "I'm sure you're about to enlighten me," she replied sarcastically.

"That is why I brought you out to lunch," Daphne answered ignoring her companions sarcasm. "Think about everything that has happened recently."

"You costing me my job," snipped Hermione, "you trying to steal my boyfriend, you causing public embarrassment for both Harry and me. Need I go on?"

Daphne rolled her eyes. "I thought you could move on past the petty jealousy to what really mattered here."

Hermione took a deep breath and tried to relax. "Okay, I'll try and look at the bigger picture here." She pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she continued. "You've already begun to explain that I still have a lot to learn about magical society, fine, I can accept that. Perhaps I have been a little head strong. You may have a point that I have been trying to apply my muggle world views on to the magical world. But you did say that you would eventually help me try and change things."

"Yes, eventually," agreed Daphne, "but there are more important things that need to be dealt with first."

"Harry," whispered Hermione.

"That's the point I've been trying to get to," said Daphne.

"And what exactly is your point, then?" asked Hermione as she began to work in eating her lunch.

"Everything that has been happening to him, or around him," explained Daphne in between bites of her own lunch, "it can't just be coincidence."

"Harry has always been a magnet for trouble," said Hermione with a sigh.

"And none of what happened to him in school was by coincidence after all, was it? Voldemort was after him continuously. It all revolved around Harry."

Hermione still winced slightly at the name of defeated Dark Lord. "But what does this have to do with Voldemort?"

"For someone so bright I can't believe you're missing the point here," sighed Daphne as she shook her head in frustration. "Review again with me the major events that have occurred."

Hermione shrugged and decided to play along, "Harry was attacked by Cho, and made to think he was becoming a Dark Lord."

"And somehow you were caught up in that little charade," interjected Daphne.

Hermione glared at her lunch partner momentarily before continuing. "Several presumed Death Eaters were acquitted, and then ended up dead via some non magical means."

"Go on," prompted Daphne.

"Harry was essentially promoted to a desk job, to keep him out of harm's way," added Hermione. "And now the British Secret Service claims that a new magical Dark Lord has arisen and has taken out one of their top agents."

"And the timing of all of this doesn't seem suspicious to you?" countered Daphne.

"Do you have any information that links them together?" asked Hermione.

"Nothing specific," replied Daphne, "but let's consider the circumstantial evidence. The DMLE has no information about this new Dark Lord that appears around the same time that someone is trying to set up Harry."

"You're not suggesting that it really is Harry?" gasped Hermione.

"Merlin, no, of course not," exclaimed Daphne, "just let me finish! This new Dark Lord, who has taken out one of the elite agents within MI-6 has only communicated with MI-6, and has not made any communication to the DMLE or to anyone in magical Britain, or at least that we know of. There's something that doesn't add up with all of this and I'm not sure whether it's on the DMLE side or on MI-6's part."

"But how can you be so sure that they're all related?" asked Hermione.

"I can't," answered Daphne, "except for one common denominator."

"Harry," said the two women simultaneously.

"And once Harry figures this out," mused Hermione, "there will be no stopping his looking into this."

"Exactly," stated Daphne, "and if he is going to be investigating this fully, with or without the support of the DMLE, I can only imagine where you will be when he is doing this. Where you always are when he is up to something. Where you always have been: right by his side."

Hermione stared at the woman sitting across from her.

"So right about now would be a good time to say thank you for almost making you lose your job," Daphne added with a smirk.

"Don't push your luck, Greengrass," said Hermione, who was trying not to show a smile to the woman who was buying her lunch.

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><p><strong>AN: Next chapter: The Education of Harry Potter<strong>


	21. C21 The Education of Harry Potter

**C 21 The Education of Harry Potter**

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><p>Harry arrived back at his office and sat down at his desk, staring at his plain white walls. There was knock on his door but before he could answer it the door swung open and Draco Malfoy walked in and pulled up a chair. Closing the door behind him he indicated to the cabinet behind Harry.<p>

"So, Scarhead, are you going to pull out a bottle of Ogden's Finest and tell me how things went with Lord Greengrass, or what?" he said with a smirk as he pulled two shot glasses out of a pouch in his robes.

"It could have been a lot worse," said Harry with a grin as he pulled a bottle out of his cabinet. He was about to open the bottle when someone else came in through the door.

Gawain Robards glared at the two young men. "I'm not surprised to see the two of you causing trouble, at least not surprised to see Malfoy stirring up trouble. Shouldn't you be doing something somewhere else, _Junior_ Prosecutor?"

"Why, do you have someone else you want me to try and get acquitted?" sneered the blonde attorney. He left the shot glasses on Harry's desk as he turned to face his friend. "I'll catch up with you later, Scarhead."

Robards was still blocking the door so Malfoy stayed in his seat for a moment. Gawain then tossed a sealed envelope onto Harry's desk. "This just came from MI-6. Tanner said you need to be over there an hour ago. So you're already late. What is it with you, Potter? Always getting yourself in trouble, and now with even more dangerous people. And these folks aren't even magical."

"But they're probably even more dangerous," muttered Harry as he picked up the envelope.

"I wouldn't open that in here," commented Robards, "you probably shouldn't even look at that until you get over to their offices."

He stepped back to allow Harry leave his own office. Once Harry had exited he turned to Malfoy who was about to leave. "Has he heard about the commotion down in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures?"

"I doubt it," answered Draco as he watched Harry leave, "he was too calm. And I'm not about to be the one to tell him. I'm sure he'll find out soon enough though."

Gawain shook his head at that thought. "I wouldn't want to see that scene. That won't be pretty."

"It depends," smirked Draco, "on who tells him, Daphne or Hermione." Then he walked off heading back to his own office.

* * *

><p>~~~~…~~~~OOOoooOOO~~~…~~~<p>

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><p><strong>MI-6 Offices<strong>

Tanner was impatiently waiting on Harry Potter to arrive. He found the young man to be abrasive and arrogant. Worse than any of the double "O" agents when they first received their orders. This Potter was an unknown, he had no formal training. He was young, and only had the training of a magical schoolboy. Rumours were that he defeated some Dark Lord that terrorised the magical population, but that didn't mean much to Tanner. But what did mean something to him was that he was given explicit instruction by M to bring the young man in for a private debriefing on the Lord Eris case. She had not asked to bring any of the Double "O"s in on this at this point, and Tanner believed that was because she didn't want to risk any more after the loss of 008.

The brash young wizard was shown into his office and he noted that the young man with the striking emerald green eyes and still not even opened the envelope that had been sent to him. Tanner wondered if it was arrogance or ignorance that caused him to leave the envelope unopened.

"Took you long enough to get here," he commented to Harry.

"I came as soon as Robards told me that my presence was requested," replied Harry.

"You haven't even opened your envelope," snapped Tanner.

"Robards told me to wait until I arrived here," replied Harry. He then tossed it on Tanner's desk. "I don't work for you, and if you're going to take this attitude I don't need to work for anyone." He then turned to leave.

"You can't leave," barked Tanner.

Harry turned and glared at the man in front of him. "You sure as hell can't keep me here. I'm not about to take any crap from you or anyone in your organisation. Last I knew I worked for the DMLE. And right about now, I'm not sure I'm going to continue doing that, so, from where I'm standing, you can't make me do a damn thing." Harry paused for a moment and tried to sense with his magic and he didn't detect any anti-apparition wards before he spoke to Tanner again. "And one more thing, I am pretty sure I can leave here any time I want, so, yes I can leave."

Tanner started to turn pale as he realised that he couldn't face M without Harry Potter. "Excuse me, would you please have a seat and would you please open the envelope and read the contents."

Harry relaxed his shoulders and raised an eyebrow. Obviously his threat of apparating away touched a nerve with the man in front of him. Tanner was acting as a bully, and Harry wasn't about to stand for it. He had his full of it when he was at Hogwarts. Harry slid into a nearby seat as he silently and wandlessly cast a summoning spell on the envelope and then he casually began to look at the contents. There was a simple letter asking him to meet with M, the director of MI-6, to further discuss the case of the self proclaimed Lord Eris. Harry was almost surprised there was nothing more in the envelope. "Bloody secret agent types, have to go through all of this just to ask me to meet with the head of their organisation," he thought to himself. He shook his head in wonder, thinking to himself that they were almost as messed up as Dumbledore when it came to keeping secrets and choosing not to reveal information that may be important to others. Finally he looked up at Tanner who was waiting impatiently for him to finish reading the short note.

"Are you ready to go meet with M?" he asked.

"Sure, that's what you all asked me here for," Harry replied with a sly grin.

Tanner restrained himself from responding, as he knew that his boss was the one who wanted to meet with Harry Potter. Harry could sense the uneasiness of the man in front of him, and he was not about to let it slide at this point. One thing that he had learned through all of his previous adventures was how to speak his mind at times, particularly when he knew that he was in a position where he held the cards, and seeing as how he figured that MI-6 needed him more than he needed MI-6, he decided he could afford to go out on a limb.

Tanner pressed a button on his desk and spoke into an intercom. "Is mum ready for our guest?"

A female voice responded, "I do believe she is."

"Then I'll bring him right over, Moneypenny," he replied.

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><p>~~~~…~~~~OOOoooOOO~~~…~~~<p>

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><p><strong>Greenhouse Restaurant<strong>

**Mayfair**

Hermione and Daphne were finishing their lunch and were about to order dessert. Hermione was growing more comfortable with talking with the woman who may have cost her her job earlier, even if she did explain her reasons for it. Hermione looked around feeling self conscious despite knowing that Daphne had cast very secure privacy charms upon their arrival.

"I do have a serious question for you, and I'm not sure that you are even willing to answer it," she said looking down at the middle of the table.

Daphne raised an eyebrow, realising that her lunch mate was actually starting to get a little emboldened at this time. "So the Gryffindor courage seems to be starting to show forth, bravo girl, it's about time!"

Hermione had a slight blush at those words. "Well, I guess there's no way around my concerns. You are the one who did take Harry out on a date to mess up your betrothal contract in a very public way. Are you trying to steal him away from me at all like the papers say you are? I need to know. Am I really in a competition with you for Harry? Because if I am, I really don't see how I could ever compare to you," she finished dejectedly.

Daphne laughed. "How could you ever think that? How could you ever doubt Harry? This is Harry freaking Potter we're talking about here. The most noble Gryffindor to ever come out or Hogwarts. Yeas over half of the girls in Hogwarts fantasised about him back when we were in school, and that obviously includes Slytherin. Why do you think Draco hated him so much back in school? Even Pansy talked about Harry in her sleep. All the girls in our dorm would compare the guys in our classes regularly. Harry was always near the top of our list for cutest guys. By the time seventh year came around even Neville started getting higher on that list. So I'd be lying if I told you I'm not interested. But Hermione, don't sell yourself short. And don't sell Harry short. No one, no witch, no muggle woman, is catching Harry's eye, he only has his eyes set on you. Can't you see that? I knew my father's foolish marriage contract was just that, a foolish waste of time with Harry. The only chance I would have ever had with Harry was if he understood the old ways and he was interested in a second wife. Then I might have a chance to have a Greengrass Heir with him as his father. Or I might have a chance as Lady Black after you become his Lady Potter. But I don't see Harry ever going that way, so why waste my time. I may be from the house of Slytherin, and yes I have the cunning to see all of those options, but I'm also smart enough to know that any of those plans have no chance in Gehenna of coming true."

Hermione sat there speechless for a moment. Daphne tilted her head at the silent woman across from her. "Did I say something wrong?"

"I guess I just was jealous," she said softly in reply.

"Jealous," said Daphne, "what on earth would you be jealous about?"

"Jealous of you," whispered Hermione, "of you, of your beauty, your long blonde hair, your gorgeous smile. How can I compete with that?"

"You're not competing with me about anything," Daphne laughed again. "You already have the man devoted to you. For being the brightest witch in our class, I don't know how you can't see that."

"But if you're not trying to steal him from me, then why are you trying to help him?" wondered Hermione.

Daphne shook her head in amazement. "Like I said before, I'm from the house of Slytherin, of course there is something for me out of all of this."

"Then please, Mistress of Slytherin, do enlighten me as to what it is your cunning and ambition will get out of this," deadpanned Hermione.

Daphne smiled at the comment. "I already have the benefit of being saved from the betrothal contract, so in some ways I feel I owe the man something more than the little information I provided to him. Besides, this whole mystery is intriguing, I just seem to be drawn into it. I guess it must be similar to the adventures you all had back in school, the ones we only heard rumours about. The Golden Trio of Gryffindor running off and saving the world, or at least saving Hogwarts, or your own sorry arses at any rate. But I guess on some level its Harry, getting to know him, he becomes infectious. You just want to help him. You want to stick with him and see this through to the end. This probably doesn't make any sense, I'm just rambling now."

Hermione laughed quietly, "It makes perfect sense to me, but it stopped making sense to Ron, who actually left us at one point during our time hunting for things during what would have been out seventh year."

Daphne noticed some pain on Hermione's face and decided not to press the issue. "But to be fair, maybe a part of me hopes against hope, that something could happen, that maybe he might want a second wife, a concubine, something." She paused and looked Hermione square in the eyes, "But please believe me when I say this, as I have gotten to know you, Hermione, I do not want to do anything to hurt you. A girl can always dream though."

* * *

><p>~~~~…~~~~OOOoooOOO~~~…~~~<p>

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><p><strong>MI-6 Headquarters<strong>

Tanner arrived with Harry outside of M's office. The receptionist looked at the two of them. "She is waiting for you, I'll buzz you in," she commented.

"Thank you, Moneypenny," replied Tanner.

Miss Moneypenny hit a button on her desk and waved the two men forward. Tanner opened the door and ushered Harry into the office. Harry looked around and noted the understated but elegant office. Fine panelling and wooden desk with the always stern M seated behind. She did not bother to stand upon their arrival. Tanner simply bowed his head slightly and pointed to a seat across from M. Harry made his way across the room and noted that Tanner simply closed the door behind him and left. He was almost surprised that this was turning out to be a meeting just between him and the formidable woman in front of him.

M waited patiently for Tanner to leave and for Harry to take his seat. "Welcome Mr. Potter, or should I say Lord Potter-Black."

"Harry would be perfectly fine with me, Madam," replied Harry.

M raised an eyebrow at the young man. "I am not accustomed to such informalities from those who work for me," she stated, clearly a little surprised.

"Excuse me, but as far as I know, I am an employee of the DMLE, and not of MI-6," commented Harry, "so no offence but I did not realise that I was working for you."

M smiled at him, "Perhaps that is the case when you walked through that door, but I have asked you here to see if there is some way that we can come to an understanding."

Harry raised an eyebrow in response. "If you pardon my being blunt, if working for you means having to put up with the rudeness of the likes of Tanner, then I think I already have an answer for you, no matter what your offer is, or what you need me to do."

M sighed heavily. "Tanner does not mean any offence, but my staff has been stressed since the loss of 008. In fact that is the reason I have asked you here. We have not been able to make any progress on this case of the Lord Eris. And apparently your own DMLE has been in the dark on this entire situation. You of all people seem to be the key to this mystery. I was hoping that after sharing with you the detailed information which we have, information that we have not released to the DMLE as of yet, that I may be able to persuade you to work for us, to work with us here at MI-6."

Harry was almost surprised by her comments. He paused for a moment as he carefully considered her offer. True, he needed to learn as much as he could about the case but did he really want to begin to work for MI-6? If he did begin to work for them, would there be any way to stop working for them?

"I'm not sure how to respond,"commented Harry. "Once this particular mission is done, assuming that it is done satisfactorily and everyone survives, how do I know that I am free to move on, and that I will not be beholden to MI-6, that you will not try to control my life going forward?"

M narrowed her eyes and smiled slightly. "I can saw that you are a wise one, and you probably won't take anything as any sort of guarantee, for after all, we are the country's secret service agency. If you are working for us and are captured by any foreign government we will disavow any knowledge of working with you. If you get into trouble that your own Ministry for Magic cannot get you out of, then we will not make any efforts to help you."

Harry looked at her with scorn. "Then why should I ever try and help you, if something goes wrong then you'll just hang me out to dry."

M smiled again, "Just our routine arrangements with all of our agents. However, I am sure that from what I have heard of you and your various accomplishments that if you so chose to not work with us that there would be little that we could do to force you to work for us."

Harry forced himself not to smirk at that comment. "Personally I'd rather not dinar out just what it is that your organisation could or could not force me to do. But I am at least willing to hear what it is that you have to say, as it seems that I do have a personal interest in what is going on here, that is if there is a link between what happened with your agent 008 and what happened to me not too long ago and I do presume that you are already aware of that incident."

M nodded to acknowledge that she had indeed heard about the incident. "If you are referring to the incident after the ball at your manor and the magical gem that caused the 'hallucinations' which you experienced, then yes I am aware of that event. It may be that those two events are linked."

Harry was hopeful that perhaps he would be able to learn something more about the events of earlier this summer. "If you don't mind my asking, I'm not sure what exactly I can do for you as I am currently stuck with what essentially amounts to a desk job at the DMLE, my supervisor and the Minister of Magic both have this idea that it would be too dangerous for me to do field work, being a Lord of two Ancient and Noble Houses."

M steepled her fingers and looked Harry straight in the eyes. "I can't tell you what to do with your life, but I have reviewed a lot of information that we have on you. Apparently many people didn't have this concern about the dangers you faced when you were in school. You seemed to face plenty of dangers year after year, and your faculty did nothing to protect you. In fact, it appears that they knowingly allowed these incidences to occur." She then pulled out a file that Harry noted was marked "For Your Eyes Only" and opened it. She scanned through a few of the forms within the folder, and it was clear that she was quite familiar with the items in front of her.

She then looked up at Harry as she scrutinised him again. "So, you were considered the 'chosen one,' expected to fight the Dark Lord Voldemort as an untrained wizard at the age of 17, when he was considered the most skilled and most lethal wizard in hundreds of years. And now your ministry thinks you're too fragile and too much at risk to do anything but sit behind a desk? I, for one, find what ever argument that they would come up with to be quite absurd at this point. From what my magical experts tell me, you've faced death, more than once. The fact that you are even alive at all is a mystery."

Harry was currently at a loss for words as he looked at the director sitting across from him.

"No smart responses for me?" she asked. "Good, I don't need a young foolish man who thinks he can get away with his wit and his charm." She then closed the folder that was opened in front of her. "And there is no use trying to peer into what is in this file, besides, you can guess what is in here, as it pertains to your activities. You'd be quite surprised what my magical experts can come up with."

"I might be," he commented, "but as they haven't given you any answers on the demise of agent 008 I wonder how accurate all of their information really is. I could give you a better idea of how accurate your information is if you allowed me to review the folder you have on me, but I doubt that you trust me enough to do that. Or at least not yet anyway."

M nodded in agreement with his words. "You are quite correct in that assessment, Mr. Potter. But I am willing to give you more information about agent 008. You may not be aware of this, but we recruit most of our agents from orphans, or from people who have lost their families. We find that it in the long run it is safer, less emotional leverage can be used against them. 008 was no different. When she was young adult, her parents were both killed. Apparently as collateral in what was referred to as your first wizarding war. The first war with Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

Harry grimaced slightly at the thought of muggles being killed by Riddles and his followers.

"The coincidences don't just end there," continued M, "her parents, well they were orphans." She paused and seemed to be uncomfortable as she searched for the right words before she continued. "There is no delicate way to say this, Mr. Potter. Her parents met growing up, in the same orphanage where a young boy by the name of Tom Marvolo Riddle grew up."

Harry was shocked to hear that statement. His attention was definitely increased at this revelation. "And you're telling me this because you think this is not a coincidence."

M was very solemn. "008 was assigned to our magical investigation team. She was researching the magical threats to Britain, including Voldemort. Once you defeated him, she was then set to the task of looking for other potential threats and eliminating them. We think that was how she came across this Lord Eris. We think that this Lord Eris was discovered in Eastern Europe, that was where the investigation she was last assigned to was based. She had gone there after basing some of her search in Albania."

Harry's attention was drawn to the mention of Albania for he knew that was where Voldemort had been hiding in his spirit form. "Do you have any of 008's records from her investigation and research?"

M frowned at that request. "Sadly, no," she replied. "All of her data was in the warehouse that was destroyed by fiendfyre the night she died."

Harry nodded in understanding. After a couple of minutes of considering the facts that had been laid out before him he looked up at M as he stated boldly, "You do know that none of this makes any sense at all."

The head of MI-6 raised an eyebrow at the young man's assertion.

"And just why would you come to such a conclusion as that so quickly?" she asked.

"The facts make no sense," he said simply, relaxing more in the chair he was sitting in. "You have a dead secret agent, killed by a magical self proclaimed dark lord, whom the magical world has never heard of. This magical person has only contacted MI-6 and has made no contact to anyone within the magical world. The individual that they killed was leading a secret investigation into magical threats against the muggle world. Yet somehow you claim that this magical dark lord is linked to the attacks against myself, although there has been no direct contact and no demands from whomever made the attacks against me. The common thread is that someone or some group wants me to think that I am a dark lord and that someone or some group wants you to think that there is a dark lord attacking your group. We still have lots of questions."

M smiled. "Now you're thinking like someone involved with the investigation. Tom Riddle seems to be the common thread here. You seem to be the living expert on the man. What is it about the orphanage where he grew up that affected 008 and her parents? Why would this affect Lord Eris and have this person attack 008? What is your connection to Lord Eris? Does it have to do with Tom Riddle? There are plenty of loose ends here, the DMLE has so far been unwilling to work with us, and what leads we have tried to give them they have, to be blunt, simply ignored. You, Mr. Potter, have intimate knowledge of Mr. Riddle, his past, his history, and his ultimate demise. You were responsible for his defeat on multiple occasions. You were responsible so much involving him and his followers. You are the key to all of this. Keeping you locked away behind a desk will help no one, I am afraid. 008 was on to something, but what that was, is lost with the remains of the warehouse and ashes left behind by fiendfyre."

"So, your people investigated the rubble and they found nothing," commented Harry.

"Of course," replied M.

"And then you brought in the DMLE and the confirmed the findings," added Harry.

"We saw no point in doing that, as even we know that fiendfyre leaves nothing trace of anything, magical or otherwise," concluded M.

Harry shook his head, "I wouldn't be so sure. There are times when a careful investigation by a highly trained Auror can uncover something, even in the ashes left behind by fiendfyre."

M actually smiled at his comment. "Does that mean you're actually willing to take on the task of the investigation?"

"So far I have agreed to nothing," answered Harry, "and you have officially made no offer of anything. I've learned a little more about this agent 008, about her parents and about an apparent connection to Riddle. I still have more questions. The warehouse would have been an important scene to investigate, but that incident occurred last year, so even if I was to investigate that location, I would find it highly unlikely that I would find out anything now, however I still think it would be prudent to check it out nonetheless."

M inclined her head in understanding of his arguments.

"I do have some questions for you," Harry added, "if I may be so bold."

"You may go right ahead an ask away," she said encouragingly. "It is refreshing to have a young and potential agent who is willing to speak so freely."

Harry took her comments as a compliment and he continued, "Why would MI-6 not bring in magicals to investigate the fiendfyre explosion immediately? If it was clear that the messages from Lord Eris were magical in nature, again, why not involve the DMLE immediately? Why all of the separation if this was clearly magic related from the onset?"

M shifted in her seat. "Your own battle with Riddle, the self titled Lord Voldemort, made many in Parliament very uncomfortable to work with the Ministry of Magic. The Prime Minister wanted us to be very careful in our dealings with your world after the fiasco of trying to work with Fudge. The corruption within his administration had made it difficult to reestablish relations with your world. Our initial attempts to work with the new leaders, this Kingsley Shacklebolt and the head of your DMLE, have been much more satisfactory but we have done so with caution. If this operation works out well, then we may be more willing to work in a more cooperative fashion in the future with the Ministry for Magic."

Harry sighed heavily. "So the future of relations between the magical world and the crown now rely on how I perform in handling a problem that lies largely within the scope of MI-6? Why do these sorts of things always seem to happen to me?"

M chuckled at his comments. "From what I have read of your history, I do believe that some of your school friends might have said it is because you are 'the chosen one.' Or, to put it in what you might call 'muggle terms' it is simply because you seem to have 'what it takes' to get the job done."

Harry smiled at her comments. "When do you need an answer from me?"

"Yesterday would be preferable," said M, and Harry noted that her face was serious. "However, I'll send a car around to pick you up tomorrow afternoon, and we'll meet at two to discuss what you have found out about the warehouse."

Harry looked at his watch, it was already 2 PM, so he would have less than 24 hours to answer his own questions. "Where will the car pick me up?" he asked.

"Wherever you are at two," she commented.

Harry was very uncomfortable with the answer he received, but clearly there was no room to discuss this any further. "Right, then, tomorrow, 2 o'clock. We'll be seeing you then. In the mean time, what was the address of the warehouse that was destroyed by the fiendfyre?"

M almost sneered at the question. "Moneypenny will have a folder with the remaining information that you may need. She will hand it to you on your way out."

Harry could tell that he was being dismissed. He stood up, bowed his head slightly as he left. On his way out the door Moneypenny quietly handed him an envelope just as M had said she would. Tanner was waiting for him and silently he escorted him out of the building. Once he reached the afternoon sun, he thought to himself, now what the bloody hell am I going to do?

Harry decided to duck into a pub and sat down in a corner booth. He put up some privacy charms and quickly looked at the information. He noted the address for the warehouse that had been destroyed the previous year. As the waitress came by to take his order, he smiled and left her a tip without ordering anything. He then made his way to an alley and apparated as close as he could to the old warehouse site.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, 2 chapters in a relatively short period of time...and some readers may have thought this story had been abandoned. My muse for this has apparently returned, after some nudges from some of my readers of my other stories. However, while the main story and plot will be unchanged, it will not be as detailed and as drawn out as some of my imaginations had once had it becoming. This, however, may be a good thing.<strong>

**As far as some of my other stories on this site, I am strongly considering taking some of them off of this site. I do not see myself finishing Harry Potter and The Dark Mark (Part 2) any time soon, if at all. (Besides I think the writing is not nearly as good as some of my more recent stories. There were some interesting plot ideas I had in that story though, and some interesting ideas that never were completed). I do not plan on taking it down until I know that I have it saved somewhere for certain. Also, the one chapter intro to a story I never finished may also come down...(Harry Potter and The End of the War)...as I have so many other stories (with better developed and frankly more interesting plots) in the works...I see no point in keeping that up there. **

**Recently I was encouraged to consider expanding Harry Potter on His Own...OldCrow feels it would be better at a much higher world count. I will take that recommendation and review the story...no promises on that one though.**

**As far as this story goes...I will keep working on it...the next chapter is already outlined...the rest of the story is loosely outlined...but LE-DH needs to be finished (the next chapter is over halfway done, and then there will be an epilogue after that, unless of course that story just continues to expand...).**

**Then I have vacation coming up soon with my son's college graduation...so there will be interruptions...but I will keep working on plots in my mind if not typing them out on the computer...**

**Thanks again to all my readers for your continued support...**


	22. Chapter 22 - Working for MI-6?

**AN: Sorry for the long time in between updates. Hopefully there is appropriate continuity here. Trying to get this story actually finished (and getting a couple more chapters outlined, although the ending is still unwritten). Progress is being made with this story. Hopefully the next updates will not take so long.**

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><p><em>Harry decided to duck into a pub and sat down in a corner booth. He put up some privacy charms and quickly looked at the information. He noted the address for the warehouse that had been destroyed the previous year. As the waitress came by to take his order, he smiled and left her a tip without ordering anything. He then made his way to an alley and apparated as close as he could to the old warehouse site.<em>

It had been over a year since the warehouse had been destroyed by the explosion. The packet of information that Harry had reviewed had indicated that there had been a series of explosions, caused by propane canisters that were ignited by a series of fiendfyre spells that were set in various places outside of the warehouse. What few remaining notes that MI-6 had from 008 indicated that she had set up a base of operations within the warehouse at some point. Apparently this Lord Eris must have felt that 008 was getting too close with her investigation and decided to put an end to it and came to the warehouse and burnt it all down.

Using his skills from his years working as an Auror it was actually not too difficult to find some evidence that there had been spell work done, even if it had been many months ago. The residue from the fiendfyre was present in some areas, despite the fact that the muggles had already removed the rubble and debris from the explosions.

Wand signatures from the spell work were weak, but surprisingly enough they were still present. Something about the wand signature seemed vaguely familiar to Harry, which at first was confusing. He walked around the block for several minutes and he headed down an alley and found another location where there was some more low level wand signatures associated with the faded fiendfyre residue. Again Harry found this to be very odd. As he used some of his advanced spell detection analysis it became clear that whomever had cast the fiendfyre had also ended the dangerous spell almost immediately. Clearly they had only used it to ignite the explosions and then they left.

The fiendfyre residue was present enough to make any cursory evaluation show that the spell had been used. But a careful investigation as Harry was now undertaking was revealing that the true cause of the destruction of the building was in fact the propane explosion. MI-6 had indicated that the explosions had destroyed the building, but their initial report was that the fiendfyre played more of a factor initially than what Harry felt it seemed to be.

Harry knelt down as he searched for any other magical signatures. Again, he only found one, and the one he found was still surprising to him. Jugson was the name that kept coming up. As he recalled, Jugson was a Death Eater, but he was not a very high ranking one, and he was never very powerful. Harry knew he spent only a minimal time in Azkaban after the Battle of Hogwarts as it couldn't be proved he was involved in much other than serving Voldemort. Harry wondered how he would have ended up in the service of this Lord Eris, and why would he be casting the fiendfyre spell, as Harry didn't think he would have had the ability to control it.

Nothing was adding up. Lord Eris had made it clear that they wanted revenge against Voldemort and the Death Eaters, so why would this Lord Eris have one working for him? Clearly this whole situation was not making any more sense as Harry was beginning to delve into its mysteries.

Harry then stood up and stretched his legs and decided he needed more information, particularly about the warehouse. He decided to start with getting information about who actually owned the property, so he made his way to the city hall, as they should have that information. One hour and a few tiring conversations later Harry finally had the name of the owners of the building.

Harry arrived back at his desk and he reviewed the little information he had finally been able to gather. The warehouse had supposedly been vacant for two years prior to the explosion. The owners were unaware that anyone had been using it at all. Upon questioning the owner if there was any way someone may have been using the warehouse without his knowledge, the owner explained that he and been routinely running off homeless people from the premises, so he would have know if someone had been using the building. Harry was keenly aware that any magical person could have easily made the man forget the building was occupied, and as he had not received permission to investigate the gentleman's memories, he figured it was best to just leave that alone, at least for the time being. He checked his watch and realised he needed to meet up with Daphne and Hermione as he had planned.

Harry arrived at the restaurant that he had reservations scheduled at with Hermione and Daphne. Finally getting the opportunity to relax, Harry ordered a pint of beer to enjoy with his dinner while the two women ordered wine.

"So, how has your day gone?" asked Hermione.

Harry raised an eyebrow, "MI-6 of course wants me to help them solve their problems, and the situation is not getting cleared up with the information I have uncovered so far." He glanced at the menu and quickly decided on what he would eat. "But enough about me, what have you two lovely ladies been up to today?"

Hermione eyed Daphne as she put down her menu and then turned back to face Harry. "We've at least cleared the air about some things. And I, for one, would like to know just where you're heading with this investigation for MI-6. I don't like the sound of the whole thing."

Harry sat back at her words. "What is there to like about it? The whole thing smells rotten from the beginning. A dead MI-6 agent, a mysterious wizard and purported Dark Lord who is only dealing with muggles but making threats against the magical world. It just doesn't add up. And how this all involves trying to persuade me to become a dark lord also makes no sense."

Daphne nodded in agreement. "That's the point I was trying to make earlier. And once you head off tracking down whoever is responsible for all of this, Hermione, well we both want to be there with you, helping you. But before we get to that, what in Merlin's name happened when you met with my father?"

Hermione gasped at her words, as she hadn't expected Daphne to add that extra bit about her helping out, nor jump right in about the meeting about the betrothal contract.

Harry subtly cast a silencing charm around their table to keep the rest of their conversation private. "This whole investigation could go no where, mind you. We'll have a little more information tomorrow, though. So far the investigation just turns up more questions and no real answers. Now, as far as my meeting with your father went, Daphne, we have come to an understanding."

He let his words hang there for a minute and the tension seemed to build before he added, "However, your words with him yesterday had quite an effect on him prior to my even getting a chance to speak with him. He is slowly crawling into the twentieth century, and who knows, we may have him ready for the twenty-first century some time. But the main point is, he realised from what you told him, family is not business, and he cannot treat the two the same way."

Hermione was biting her lower lip waiting to hear what this really meant.

Daphne was surprised to hear that the tongue lashing she gave her father had such an effect on him. "There is no betrothal contract?"

"Do you really want one?" asked Harry.

"I had always assumed I would have to have one," stated Daphne, not sure of what to think. "That's just the way I had been raised, to expect a betrothal that would be beneficial to the family."

"So you worked one out, and now you don't have to even have it," commented Hermione wryly.

"There would still be advantages for me to follow through with it," she said quietly, "but that would still potentially be problematic for the both of you. And the contract my father sent you was quite favourable for you," added Daphne.

Harry shook his head, "This is neither the time nor the place to even consider such a thing. Lord Eris is currently a more pressing issue."

"Speaking of which," said Hermione, "when the Daphne and I were talking earlier, we noticed a few things. Don't you find it odd that this whole new Dark Lord investigation is going on without involving the magical world, the DMLE, until MI-6 called you in to help them? Don't you find it odd that this whole investigation seemed to start after you were attacked in your own home? Don't you find it odd that the DMLE demoted you to a desk job just at the same time as all this was going on?"

Harry put a finger to Hermione's lips to stop her from her list of rhetorical questions. "Don't you find it odd that as a well trained Auror that I wouldn't have thought of all of that on my own? Or do you still think I need you to do all of my homework for me?" Harry made sure to add a large grin so that she would know that he was teasing her.

Daphne tried to diffuse the tension, "So what did you discover today?"

"Several odd facts," began Harry. "First, that the fire at the warehouse was not really the result of fiendfyre. Yes, there was a small residue of fiendfyre, which was enough to be detected by a magical investigation, but it was just enough to cause some propane tanks to explode and then the person who summoned the fiendfyre actually ended the curse. It was the propane explosion that destroyed the building. The building which was supposedly unoccupied for over 2 years prior to its destruction according to the owner."

"The plot thickens," whispered Daphne in a husky voice with a touch of glee.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Daphne and then turned to Harry. "So, there are at least two cover ups going on with this whole investigation so far."

"But who exactly is covering what up remains to be seen," added Harry. "Personally, my theory is that someone was just covering their tracks. If Lord Eris was using the warehouse, then they made sure no one knew it, or at least didn't remember anything about it, and then when they were ready to leave or when someone was getting too close, they covered their tracks, in a way that would be easily explained away by both muggle and magical investigators."

"But why have the magical signature used on the explosion?" wondered Daphne.

Hermione considered Daphne's question and looked to Harry. Her question was interrupted by the waiter taking their orders for their meal. Once they had all placed their orders, Hermione continued, "Wouldn't it just have been simpler to have the propane tanks explode, and destroy the building? Why make the investigators think it was destroyed by magical means?"

"That is what we need to find out," replied Harry.

The conversation continued and soon they were enjoying their meals and then discussing what else the two women had been up to during the day, as Hermione was now on paid leave from her job. Daphne explained to Harry her motivation for doing what she did, and even though Hermione was still not exactly pleased with what happened, she at least was grateful for the opportunity to spend more time with Harry. Once they had finished their dinner, they decided to spend the rest of the evening at a night club in muggle London, dancing and relaxing, before Harry had to return to the investigation the next day.

First thing in the morning Harry made sure he followed up on any other leads he had about the owners of the warehouse. There were no other buildings they had which were suspicious or possible locations for Lord Eris to be using as some sort of hideout.

He also began to look into the whereabouts of Jugson. The ministry would probably have records concerning him as he had been tried previously for his involvement in the war. He, like several others, had been acquitted, in his case due to a lack of evidence, other than bearing the Dark Mark on his left arm. However, Harry knew all too well that he had been involved in raids and fought alongside many Death Eaters during the war. As Harry considered Jugson, he realised that he was a Death Eater who had been acquitted but who had not turned up dead.

Harry made a quick visit to the Ministry of Magic with an attempt to track down either Draco or Daphne where they worked. Perhaps either one of them may have an idea if there were further legal records regarding Jugson. A quick conversation with Draco indicated that Jugson was not represented by him, but by another public defender. The prosecutor's office had no further information about any of the individuals who had been tired and acquitted, and Harry quickly learned that they had no means of tracking any of these individuals as they were too busy and too underfunded.

Harry was hoping to gather some information and made his way to the head of the floo network. On his way he ran into Malfoy again.

"For someone who only has a 'desk job,' you seem awful busy," commented Draco. "What's up?"

Harry shook his head. "You don't want to know, plausible deniability, Draco, plausible deniability."

Draco held up his hands as he walked away, "I never saw you, we never spoke."

Harry made his way into the office of the Floo Network Authority. Harry was surprised to read that Percy Weasley was now the Assistant Director for this department and he wondered why he hadn't heard about Percy's new job. Harry quickly decided it probably had more to do with his distance from the Weasley family more than anything and stepped in to speak with the receptionist.

Before he could say anything, the receptionist looked up at him and nearly squeaked. "Harry, I mean Mr. Potter! What a surprise to see you here in our office! What can I do for you?"

Harry smiled kindly at the young woman, who he recognised from school, and realised she must have been from Hufflepuff House, a couple of years behind him. "Oh, yes, well, I just have a few quick questions. I'm not sure if you could answer them or if I need to trouble Mr. Weasley."

"Oh, I'm sure he would be happy to speak with you," replied the receptionist. "I could interrupt his meeting and let him know you're here. Was he expecting you?"

Harry frowned slightly. "No, no, Percy was most definitely not expecting to see me today. Let's not interrupt him just yet. It's a simple question and you may have the information I need. You see, I need to try and track down the whereabouts of a certain individual and I need to know if the records of the Floo Network Authority would have that information stored away somewhere."

The receptionist frowned. "Unless the DMLE has already placed a tracking charm on an individual, then we have no records of where anyone has flooed to or from."

Harry nodded as he listened to her answer. "I was afraid that would be the answer," he said. "You wouldn't have information here on international travel, would you?"

"Oh, no," she replied with a smile again, "all international travel is monitored through the Ministry Office for International Relations."

"Of course it is," said Harry. "Thank you for your time, and don't even bother Percy with letting him know I was here, he is so busy after all. No need to worry him about anything."

The receptionist smiled at Harry as she agreed with him as Harry waved goodbye and slipped out the door.

Harry made his way back to his office and sat down and silently cursed. The Ministry Office for International Relations was essentially part of the Minister for Magic's office, and if it was true that Shacklebolt was relegating him to a meaningless desk job then his investigation into this situation had run into a large brick wall right about now. He looked at his watch and it was nearly noon. Harry had about two hours before he had to meet with M, who assured him they would pick him up, 'where ever he was' and one thing Harry was sure about, he didn't want to be anywhere near the ministry when 2 o'clock came around, and he needed to finish a couple of things in his office.

Harry made his way out of the building with plenty of time to spare and was sitting at a café in muggle London by 1:30, sipping some tea. A black limousine pulled up and two men in dark suits with dark sunglasses stepped out and approached Harry.

"Mr. Potter, if you would please come with us, you have an appointment with M," said the first man who was slightly taller.

Harry eyed them both carefully. He was feeling cautious, "I'm not sure that I really want to join you, especially as I have no idea who either of you are."

The second man spoke to the first, "Tanner indicated that he might be a bit difficult to convince to come along quiet like."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the name Tanner. "Do either of you have any idea what you are about to get yourselves into here?"

The first man smiled slightly. "We have magic suppressing technology, so, don't even think of making a move for your wand. We know about your kind."

Harry frowned slightly. "My kind? You say that as if it is a bad thing. I'm not sure you know the first thing about me, or that much about 'my kind,' so if you don't mind, I think I'll find my own way." Harry slowly began to stand up.

The second man shook his head slowly, "I would advise against you making any sudden movements, Mr. Potter."

Harry tilted his head slightly. "You know, yesterday, when I was having a friendly little chat with M, I was being treated as a colleague, as a friend. Right now, I feel as though I'm being treated as a felon. I don't think I like this. So, I'm afraid that I'll just have to disappoint you both."

With that statement Harry sent two wandless blasting hexes at the men simultaneously, one from each hand. The men were taken completely by surprise as they were sent crashing into the limousine. Before they could recover, Harry apparated away and reappeared at the main entrance to MI-6. He quickly burst through the doors and made his way to Tanner's office. Tanner's receptionist tried to stop Harry but he ignored her and drew his wand, blasting the door away from Tanner's office as he marched in to find Tanner in the middle of a conference with two other agents. Tanner was about to call in security when Harry cast a body bind hex on all three of the people of the room.

"You're lucky my anger is held in check and I haven't decided to kill you, Tanner," barked Harry. "You're also lucky that I had a nice little chat on my own with M, and that I don't have access to her office or she'd be in a right fix now herself. What the bloody hell were you thinking by sending those two morons after me this afternoon?"

Harry heard footsteps coming down the hall and sent a large shield spell behind him, out the door and into the hall. He smiled as he heard a satisfying thud as several people were knocked over by the invisible barrier that escaped from Tanner's office.

Tanner looked at Harry and spat at him, "You're just a kid, a punk. We needed to test you, to see if you even had the skills to do the job that was necessary."

Harry quickly stunned the two agents who were already bound in the room. He then used a levitation charm on Tanner and stuck him to his ceiling. "Which part of defeating the darkest wizard in the past 100 years didn't register with you? Which part of my work as an Auror did you decide didn't matter, or did you just ignore the work I've done previously? Never mind, it's fools like you who are too ignorant to get any real work done." Harry silently decided to make the sticking charm on Tanner's back permanent.

Harry pointed his wand at the floor for a moment and then he glared at Tanner once more. "Just answer me one thing, and I'll consider letting you down from there."

"What's that?" answered Tanner with as much spite in his vice as he could muster, considering he was bound by invisible ropes and stuck to his own ceiling.

"Did M know what you did today, with sending those goons after me?"

Tanner's eyes revealed he was nervous as Harry was clearly going to follow this up when he met with M later, "She only knew I was arranging for people to pick you up, she knew nothing about how it was going to happen."

"So it was just your brilliant idea to have some thugs try and intimidate me," said Harry with a laugh. "They may need their suits dry-cleaned after today. And they need better source material."

Harry turned around and saw another group of agents making their way towards the door. Once again he sent an invisible shield spell towards them, sending them all backwards, crashing into each other. Harry turned back to Tanner. "So, which is the best way for me to find M?"

Harry then heard a voice from the hallway, "You keep up what you're doing here and I'll find you, Mr. Potter." M's voice was clear and distinct.

Harry waited in Tanner's office for M to show herself from around the corner of the door frame.

"Good afternoon, mum," greeted Harry with a smile as he put away his wand.

M just looked around the office and the hallway behind where she was standing. "That's a fine how do you do, young man. Why don't you follow me to my office, and I suppose I'll be hearing your side of this undoubtedly enlightening story, in addition to your report on the information you were planning to gather over the past 24 hours?"

Tanner was still stuck on the ceiling as he gaped and the commented, "You've already had him start on this project?"

M looked up at him, "Of course, he is the most qualified for this project, as you have already been informed. Mr. Potter will be joining me in my office for a briefing, and you, sir, should get yourself out of your current predicament as soon as possible." Turning back to Harry she added, "If you would kindly come with me, Mr. Potter."

Arriving in M's office, she made sure that Moneypenny knew that they were not to be disturbed.

"Now then Mr. Potter, what information have you discovered?"

Harry tilted his head slightly as he began to speak, impressed that she was so business oriented that she completely ignored the entire situation in Tanner's office, or at least she was ignoring that situation for the time being. Harry explained his findings about the warehouse, the minimal use of fiendfyre, and the apparent use of magic to only coverup what was actually a simple muggle explosion. He then continued with the involvement of the low ranking Death Eater, Jugson, whose whereabouts was still unknown.

"Could this Jugson person be this Lord Eris?" wondered M.

"That would be highly unlikely," explained Harry. "Jugson was undergoing investigation and trial while some of the issues with Lord Eris were already under way. The timeline does not fit."

"Conclusions?"

"It seems that we have some sort of cover up," stated Harry. "This is muggle work, being portrayed as events being carried out by magicals."

"What does this mean?" asked M.

"I'm not sure yet, but somehow this will all fit together" Harry began to explain. "But considering that all of the reports were made to MI-6 and not to the DMLE, this makes sense. It's as though whomever was causing these problems, taking these actions did not have access to the magical world themselves."

"But somehow they have some access to magic," observed M.

"That is apparent, as fiendfyre was used to start the explosion," continued Harry, "and then there is the linkage to Death Eaters and Voldemort and the events that involved myself as well, mum."

"And we're still left wondering where this Jugson person is, the first lead we've had," stated M.

"I do not have access to the ministry's tracking records for international travel," commented Harry, who was clearly frustrated. "Also, I really need to know what 008 was doing, what she was investigating."

M sat in silence for a while. Then she finally spoke up, "Tanner will get you all of the necessary files, once he is available."

Harry suppressed a laugh at her comment.

M noted his efforts and then she continued. "Your mission will include multiple parts. First, you will need to track down this Death Eater who was involved in the explosion at the warehouse. You will also need to track down whatever research 008 was doing prior to her death. Then you will need to find her previous contacts in Eastern Europe, as she travelled there frequently. That may give us more clues about this Death Eater involvement. By the way, I do believe that 008 had several contacts at Durmstrang, so you may need to go there at some point during your investigation."

Harry nodded his understanding.

M continued, "However, you will need to break with the DMLE before you leave, you do understand this. You will need a cover story for when you leave."

Harry grinned at M. "I think I have that under control, that shouldn't be a problem, considering what Lord Eris already tried to do."

M smiled back. "Very well, Mr. Potter. I'll have Tanner get the files to you as soon as possible."

"Are you sure that is the best idea?" asked Harry. "He did seem a little preoccupied that I saw him and he does seem to have issues with me."

M rolled her eyes at Harry. "We will get you the files, don't you worry about that."

Harry nodded at her before getting up and leaving the office. As he passed Moneypenny's desk she held out a folder for him. "The files that M wanted you to have, Mr. Potter."

Harry stopped and took the folder and looked at Moneypenny. He was about to say something, then he thought better of it, and merely returned her smile and simply said, "Thank you," and then proceeded on his way.

As he neared Tanner's office, he could tell there was a continued problem as Tanner's suit was now torn to shreds as he saw the man quickly walking away with hardly any clothes on. Harry quickly glanced into the office and noted that Tanner's clothes were still attached to the ceiling above his desk. Harry's smile broadened as he continued on his way out of the building.

Harry arrived back at Potter Manor to find Daphne and Hermione waiting for him. He quickly placed the folder in his study and closed the door.

"What has you so happy?" asked Daphne.

Harry looked at the two of them. "Oh, just the next part of my new responsibilities."

"And what might that be?" asked Hermione.

"A night out with two lovely ladies," he answered with a grin. "More dancing, more fun."

The two women were initially confused and were about to question him, when Harry continued, "Just go get ready for another night on the town, and I'll explain as we take a ride in a limo to various night spots. Make sure whatever you wear is flashy though."

* * *

><p>~~~~…~~~~OOOoooOOO~~~…~~~<p>

* * *

><p>The next morning, the front page of the Daily Prophet had a picture of Harry dressed in a black suit and out dancing with Hermione and Daphne. The accompanying article discussed the trio's adventures of partying together at night clubs in both magical and muggle Britain over the previous two nights. There apparently was plenty of drinking and dancing and closeness among the three of them. Comments about scandalous behaviour, lack of propriety for a young lord, and spoiled war heroes were bandied about throughout the story.<p>

At the Ministry of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt was not a happy man. The front page news of the leading magical newspaper was creating quite a stir, and he needed answers, which is why he was making his way to the main office of the DMLE headquarters. He did not wait to be announced as he walked into Gawain Robards' office.

"Robards," demanded Shack, speaking sternly but softly, "just what the hell is going on with people in your department? You must have seen the Daily Prophet this morning."

Robards was expecting something along this line. "Good morning, Minister, and damned if I know. It's a shock to me too, sir."

Shacklebolt then asked, "Did he even show up for work today?"

"We can always go check, sir," replied Robards. Then he stood up and lead the way to Harry's office. He tried the door and discovered that it would not budge. Turning back to the minister he stated the obvious, "His office door is locked."

Draco Malfoy showed up at that time outside of Harry's office, with a copy of the Daily Prophet rolled up in one hand. "So, what's up with Potter?"

Robards glared at the blonde defence attorney. "We thought you might know, seeing as how you seem to be friends with him."

"Haven't heard from him," was Draco's simple reply.

Robards then asked, "Did Granger show up to work?"

"She's out on administrative leave," explained Draco. "Doubt she'd be found anywhere near here."

"What about Greengrass?"

Draco scratched the side of his head, "Don't know, I haven't seen her yet. What about Potter?"

"His office is locked," stated Robards, pointing at the door.

Draco nodded, "Mind if I take a look?"

"Suit yourself," muttered Robards.

Shacklebolt simply watched the entire exchange quietly.

Draco knelt down and examined the lock, he made a few motions with the lock, and then he let out a sigh. Draco then made another attempt as he stated, "Don't worry, I've got this."

Suddenly there was a loud bang as the door exploded as Draco was trying to pick the lock. Once the dust and cloud of smoke settled, it was apparent that Draco's face was covered with soot and dirt.

"Are you okay, Mr. Malfoy?" asked a concerned Shacklebolt.

"It seems the explosion was more for show than for anything else," he replied dryly as he cleaned up his face.

"The door may disagree with your assessment," replied Kingsley with a slight laugh.

The group of men entered Harry Potter's office to find that it had been throughly trashed. The desk was knocked over, the drawers emptied, with papers scattered and torn to shreds. There were no pictures on the walls, but Draco recalled Harry had never put any up after he had been moved into this office.

"I guess that's his resignation," commented Robards.

Draco looked at the smashed desk. "I think it's simply just his commentary that he didn't like his desk job." Draco then walked over to the filing cabinet, which was untouched from the explosion. Upon opening the bottom drawer, he removed the bottle of Ogden's Finest Firewhiskey, but to his chagrin, Draco discovered that the bottle is quite empty. "Damn," he muttered to no one in particular.


	23. Chapter 23 - Head East, Young Man

**AN: Back again. Trying to get this story moving along, and we will definitely be making progress with this chapter. Hopefully it doesn't flow to quickly, but progress is definitely being made. The end is in sight, and I am working out the details (the next chapter is already outlined, the chapter after that, is being formulated now too). My goal is to complete this story and Going Muggle before posting anything else. The next big story will probably be Harry Potter and the Virtual Magic Island. It may need a bit of an explanation. Most of the story was already written as a NaNoWriMo project for November 2014.**

* * *

><p>Harry Potter did not show up at the DMLE office that day. Daphne Greengrass did not show up at her job as assistant prosecutor either. Hermione Granger, of course, didn't show up at her job at the Ministry of Magic as she was out on administrative leave. Gawain Robards was irritated to find Potter's office a mess. He did not find any humour in the empty bottle of firewhiskey in the bottom of the file cabinet. For that matter, neither did Draco Malfoy. Another thing that was particularly irksome to Robards was the otherwise empty file cabinet, and the papers that were scattered around the office and the trashed furniture were simply shredded copies of the Daily Prophet announcing Harry's victory over Voldemort in the past.<p>

The Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, had no idea what to make of this situation. He looked around the office that had been Harry Potter's and he realised that perhaps putting him on a desk job had been a mistake. "Robards, find out what MI-6 was having him do for them. Perhaps they can shed some light on this whole mess."

"Will do sir," replied the irritated DMLE director.

With that, Shacklebolt turned and left.

Robards then looked at Draco, "Don't you have somewhere else you need to be?"

Draco frowned, "Probably, but this has been so much more entertaining."

Robards glared at Draco as he commanded him to get out of his department, "Get back to where you belong, Malfoy."

~~~~…~~~~OOOoooOOO~~~…~~~

Meanwhile, Harry, Daphne and Hermione were making their way to check in at a nice hotel in downtown Paris. Once they arrived in their suite, Hermione looked out over the city, taking in the view of the Eiffel Tower.

"I've always loved coming to Paris," she said lightly.

Harry walked up to her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Then why don't you spend the afternoon showing us around, giving us a private tour. Then tonight, we'll head out and have some fun."

Hermione leaned into Harry, "A romantic getaway is part of your master plan?"

Harry laughed slightly, "Why not? If we're here, why not take advantage of the location?"

Daphne stepped up and joined them, and coughed slightly. "Hey, you're not alone here, you two. I'd tell you to get a room, but we have one, or more precisely, a suite of rooms."

Hermione pulled Harry tighter as she leaned in front of him slightly to address Daphne. "You offered to share him, and we've been doing that with the dancing, and we'll be doing that on this trip, on this adventure. I'm trying to get used to this idea, it's not easy, considering my background."

Daphne smiled back at her, "I'm not trying to pressure you, honey."

Harry looked back and forth between the two women, "I am standing right here, you know."

Hermione patted him on the shoulder with her hand, "Oh, we know all right, but this really doesn't concern you."

Harry was shocked, "How does this not concern me?"

Daphne now laughed at him. "Because it is quite simple. You'd be a fool not to be happy to be with either one of us. Now you have the opportunity to be with both of us, so from the perspective of a man, you are in a win-win situation."

And then Hermione added, "So therefor, it is not your concern, you luck out no matter what."

Harry rolled his eyes, "Only if I survive this ordeal."

* * *

><p>~~~~…~~~~OOOoooOOO~~~…~~~<p>

* * *

><p>The threesome then spent the afternoon doing some sightseeing around the City of Lights. They took in a view from the top of the Eiffel Tower, they toured the Louvre, and the Champs Elysees, before returning to their suite. Harry then sat himself down at the desk in the room and pulled out the files he had obtained on 008. He tried to understand everything that the agent had uncovered and documented about the Lord Eris, however it was still surprisingly vague.<p>

He muttered to himself, "For someone who was supposedly the expert on this individual, they had little documentation on them."

Daphne overheard his comments and came up from behind him and wrapped her arms around him to try and comfort him. "There must be some sort of explanation or that lack of information."

Hermione was sitting across the room, sipping on a glass of wine and decided to throw in her own commentary. "What information do you actually have about this agent 008?"

"Not much beyond where she had travelled, or at least where MI-6 has known locations for her over the two or three years prior to her death at the explosion," added Harry.

Hermione had now joined the other two at the desk. "Maybe those locations can give you a clue as to where else we need to go."

Harry closed the file, "You may be right, but I've had enough of studying that for now. I say we head out again tonight, and investigate the Paris night life."

The two women quickly agreed with his plans and soon they were leaving the suite.

The next morning, their activities were well documented in Le Monde Magique, Paris' leading newspaper for wizards and witches. Harry, Daphne and Hermione had slept in and decided to have brunch at a street side cafe near their hotel.

A group of several women sat down at a nearby table when one of the women with long silvery-blonde hair suddenly froze in place. "Mon dieu," she said. "Harry Potter, of all the people in the world.

Harry looked up to see Fleur Delacour Weasley glaring at him. "Bonjour, Fleur," he said politely to his fellow champion from his fourth year experience. "I didn't expect to run into you here, I figured you would be at home with Bill and your children."

"Apparently you wouldn't expect to run into any decent people, with the way you've been carrying on," she scolded.

Hermione was about to say something, but Daphne quickly silenced her, and quietly indicated that she should let Harry handle this just to see where it went.

Fleur then stood up and walked over to Harry's table as she continued to berate him. "Your behaviour has been disgraceful Harry. I thought I knew you back when we were competing in the tournament. The Harry I knew then would never behave like this. The things that I have read about you, it disgusts me Harry. I thought you were better than that." Then she slapped him in the face. She glared at Hermione and shook her head at the three of them as she muttered once again, "Disgraceful, the lot of you." Then she turned around and went back to her own table and quickly raised privacy shields around their table.

However, as Harry had been the topic of the newspapers in Britain and now in France, this entire episode was caught on film and appeared in the next day's edition of the Le Monde Magique, under the heading of "Former Tri-Wizard Champions Now at Odds."

Harry looked at the paper's headlines and grinned slightly. "Well, this is helping with part of the plans. I only hope we can eventually sort everything out in the end."

Hermione gave him a hug as she tried to comfort him, "I'm sure your true friends will understand once this is all over and done."

Harry nodded his head before he added, "But will it ever truly be over and done?"

Daphne waited a moment before she interjected, "Okay you two, I think its time we make our next move. It seems that 008 spent some time in Berlin. Next stop, Germany?"

* * *

><p>~~~~…~~~~OOOoooOOO~~~…~~~<p>

* * *

><p>Once the trio arrived in Berlin, they made their way to the magical section of the city and found the most common places that the locals would hang out, and then they began to investigate where the less respectable wizards and witches might congregate.<p>

Then they checked into a luxurious muggle hotel, once again reserving a suite. The first night in Berlin they went out to a muggle night club that was quite trendy. Their next night they showed up at a magical nightclub that had a clientele that was considered shady at best. At one point as they were leaving the dance floor someone bumped into Harry. As he was about to admonish the individual for their clumsiness, he realised that the person had slipped him a note into his hand before they disappeared into the crowd.

Harry made his way to the table that he and his two lovely ladies had reserved before he even tried to look at the small paper that was in his hand.

As he was about to open it up, Hermione noticed something in his hand. "What do you have there, Harry?"

Harry paused as he explained, "Someone slipped me this note as we were leaving the dance floor. And before you ask, no, I wasn't able to get a look at who did it."

Daphne looked around the room and did not notice anyone eyeing them suspiciously. "Well, it's not like we haven't been making ourselves stand out wherever we've been," she said simply. Turning back to Harry, she added, "You might as well see what it says."

Harry looked back to Hermione who nodded in agreement. He then carefully unfolded the piece of paper which had a simple message written on it. Upon reading the four words, Harry merely raised one eyebrow briefly and then he crumpled the paper and shoved it back into a pocket.

The two women glared at him in his silence, and then simultaneously exclaimed, "Well?"

Harry shook his head for a moment before he said as quietly as he could, "I'll tell you back at the room."

At which point Daphne looked like she wanted to hex him and Hermione immediately cast a privacy ward around their table and then a sound muffling ward to cancel out the sounds of the rest of the night club.

"That's going to look a bit obvious," stated Harry.

Hermione dismissed his concerns, "I've been seeing people do it all around the club all night. It's par for the course around here."

"So out with it already, Potter," demanded Daphne.

Harry smiled, "You two are as resourceful as you are demanding, aren't you?" Seeing he didn't get any smiles in return he shrugged his shoulders and then he rubbed the back of his neck. "All right then. The message was simple, just four words is all. 'Travel east for power.' Honestly, it didn't say anything else."

"What the bloody hell does that mean?" wondered Hermione out loud.

"Language," chastised Harry.

"I say we try to figure this out in the morning," commented Daphne, "and lets head back and get some rest tonight."

"Actually, that sounds like a great plan," agreed Harry.

Once again the local magical paper had more pictures of the three of them out partying in the magical night clubs. There was also a commentary about how the famous Harry Potter, who had saved magical Britain on 'many occasions' from Dark Lords seemed to be going dark himself, considering how he always seemed to be wearing black robes every time he was seen in public over the past month.

While the three were reading the paper, with a magical translation, Daphne was the first to comment about the reference to Harry's supposedly going dark based on the way he was dressed. "The Germans don't like the way you look, love," she said sadly, "but it was that French Veela who was so offended by your supposed behaviour."

Harry gently rubbed the side of his face where Fleur had slapped him. "That did hurt," he commented thinking back to that morning in Paris.

"Really? I thought the brave and dangerous Harry Potter had suffered much more painful injuries in all of his adventures," she teased.

"It wasn't the physical pain," explained Harry as he looked away, "it was making a good friend think less of me that hurt. And she also now thinks less of Hermione."

"Back to the subject at hand," stated Hermione, "where else have we determined that 008 had travelled within Europe?"

Harry mentally reviewed what they had deciphered from the notes. "We know that she had been to different parts of Eastern Europe, and the clue last night told us to head east."

"That note was intended for the Dark Lord Potter," stated Daphne. "Probably send by this Lord Eris. They must be having you watched, and they must think you are still under the effects of the gem stone, at least to some extent."

"Then our charade is of some benefit," replied Harry. After pausing for a moment he then asked the two beautiful women, "So, any ideas of where we should head next?"

"The best big city east of here would be Warsaw," announced Hermione.

"Unless we head more south," corrected Daphne.

"If we head more north, we'll be heading towards Durmstrang, wherever that is," observed Harry.

Daphne mused, "Why does everyone associate Durmstrang with Dark Lords?"

Harry quipped back, "I don't know, why does everyone do the same thing with Slytherin?"

"That's not fair and you know it, Harry," replied a wounded feeling Daphne.

"Yes, I know it and you know it, but most of magical Britain doesn't know that," he said as he tried to calm her as he gently rubbed one of her arms.

* * *

><p>~~~~…~~~~OOOoooOOO~~~…~~~<p>

* * *

><p>Harry and his two ladies made their next stop in Warsaw. Once again they made their way tot he magical part of the city, which was surprisingly not as large as they had initially anticipated. After checking out several shops they made their way to a hotel and checked into a comfortable suite. Later that evening they made their way out to a night spot that was located close to the magical section of the city as they had quickly learned that there was no specific night club catering to witches and wizards in the Polish capital city.<p>

The night was very uneventful for them and after several hours of dancing and having fun they returned to their room. Upon opening the door Hermione noted an envelope on the floor that had been slid underneath the door and had been clearly addressed to Harry.

The handwriting was simple and neat. The message itself was a little more elaborate than the four words that he had received in Berlin.

"Such decadence from such a promising young man — such hope that is lost — such power can be achieved — what are you willing to sacrifice for everything you could want or need? Come east for power."

Daphne read the note looking over Harry's arm as he examined the words. "At least the person sending you the message has a slightly larger vocabulary."

The three friends then sat down in the sitting area of the suite as they began to discuss this new and more detailed message.

Harry quipped, "Feel like a secret agent yet?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow in question to his comment.

He shook his head and let out an anxious laugh, "Well, we are getting secret messages from strangers."

"But no one's tried to kill you yet," observed Daphne.

"Not so much as yet," replied Harry, "just not recently."

"Don't tempt fate," chastised Hermione.

"So,once again we're told to keep heading east," Harry summed up.

"But we're on the right track," stated Daphne. "This is two cities in a row in which we, or rather you, have been contacted with information. Obviously you are on to something."

Harry wondered out loud, "But where to next?"

Hermione conjured a map of Europe on the table in front of them. "Considering we started in London, travelled to Paris, then Berlin and now to Warsaw and we continue to get messages to head east, we have a few options. We head north towards the small states such as Latvia and Lithuania, or we head more south towards Bulgaria, or we head due east towards the former Soviet countries, such as the Ukraine."

Harry then asked, "But what about the possible connection with Durmstrang? Several of the Death Eaters who were involved with this Lord Eris were apparently trying to connect with Durmstrang from what information we were able to glean from the DMLE before I had to leave. MI-6 wasn't sure. Our records also indicate that access to Durmstrang for visitors is through Bucharest, despite the school's location far north in Scandinavia."

"Is that like having to take a train from London to get to a school in Scotland?" asked Hermione.

"Probably just another quirk of wizards trying to be overly secretive and making things overly complicated," explained Daphne.

"So then, we head to Durmstrang Institute," announced Harry. "How exactly do we do that?"

Hermione smiled, "We make arrangements for a tour, and arrange to be in Bucharest at the checkpoint or secure floo station at the appropriate time."

Daphne looked at her and her jaw dropped, "And just why would you know this?"

Hermione blushed slightly as she answered quietly looking away from Harry, "A certain Quidditch player once told me how to do it in case I wanted to come visit him. Not that I ever used the information."

Daphne tilted her head as she questioned what Hermione meant.

Harry laughed slightly as he looked to Daphne, "Think back to our fourth year. Remember her date to the Yule Ball? It was none other than the Durmstrang champion, Viktor Krum."

Daphne turned and smiled at Hermione. "Oh, yes, now I remember. He never could even pronounce your name properly." Then she turned to Harry as she added snidely, "But at least he danced with his date that night."

Harry held up his hands in defeat, "Do we have to remind me repeatedly of one of my less than stellar performances?"

Both of the women replied in unison, "Yes!"

* * *

><p>~~~~…~~~~OOOoooOOO~~~…~~~<p>

* * *

><p>"The secure magical travel station in Bucharest, Bulgaria. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."<p>

"I don't think this place looks that bad, Harry," commented Daphne.

Hermione swatted Harry on the shoulder, "It's not, he's just badly quoting a famous muggle movie, and doing so inappropriately I might add."

Harry rubbed his shoulder, "Well, we are about to arrange for travel to what is rumoured to be one of the darkest schools for magic that exists. I thought it was fitting considering the context."

Hermione just glared at him again. "Don't you dare quote Darth Vader or Obi Wan ever again."

Daphne nodded her head, "Oh, you two must be talking about that science fiction thing, Star Trek, right."

Harry shook his head, "Wrong one, Daphne. Remind me that we will have to educate you on this whole muggle science fiction thing at some point. And never, ever confuse Star Trek with Star Wars in front of a muggle sci-fan fan. They're liable to go off the deep end and do something completely crazy."

The trio made their way to the information desk at the secure travel terminal. The receptionist pointed to an alcove that was marked with an old and weathered sign as the Checkpoint for the Durmstrang Institute. From what Hermione could tell, the sign was probably close to 100 years old and had not been updated in that entire time.

Hermione made her way over to the checkpoint, only to find a large register. She noted that there was a long list of names so she added her name to the book, then she went back to speak with the receptionist.

Harry took his time to sign in and carefully reviewed recent visitors over the past year. Daphne noticed Harry raise his eyebrow several times. After they had all three signed in, she quietly asked him what he had discovered.

Harry whispered to Hermione and Daphne that he saw several interesting names on the register. These included Jugson, who they knew was working with Lord Eris, as well as several other known Death Eaters. People who they had been looking for had come through here. Harry and the two women were hopeful that they might be getting some answers.

The stern woman behind the desk spoke sharply to Hermione who had approached her. "Your personal tour guide will be arriving in just a moment. He will then bring you to the school and show you around. He will answer your questions while you are there. You may have seat while you wait, yes."

The trio decided that it was not a request but a demand, and they quickly took their seats as they waited. Two minutes later there was the sound of apparation as a heavily cloaked figure appeared in front of them. The figure looked up and gave a broad smile.

"Harry Potter, yes! I am so glad to see you again!" he exclaimed as he stepped forward and pulled Harry into a warm hug.

He stepped back a moment and looked at the two women with Harry. "What's going on? You give up Quidditch, you give up job, you have two women, including my Herm-own-ninny. And now you here to look at my old school?"

Harry blushed slightly, "She was never yours, Viktor, you can't own a woman."

Viktor smiled, "No, they only let you think you can, but they can own your heart, and it looks like two own yours, my friend."

Harry tried to explain, "It's not what it looks like."

Viktor smiled at him, "With you Harry, my friend, I have already learned nothing is ever what it looks like, no."

Harry smiled back, "Usually not. But let us not be rude, Viktor. You already know Hermione Granger, and this other beautiful lady is Daphne Greengrass."

Viktor first gave Hermione a kiss to both cheeks and then a hug. Then he turned to Daphne and he extended a hand to gently grasp hers as he kissed the back of her hand. "I am charmed, but then I should have known who you are, the three of you have been in all the papers, making headlines, yes." He then turned back to Harry, "So, I am here to give you tour. Come with me to the floo, it has been opened for us to be able to step through."

The trio followed the famous Quidditch player as they made their way to the secure floo system and then stepped through to the castle that housed Durmstrang Institute.

"Now, my friend," began Viktor as he started to give them a simple tour, "tell me the real reason you are here. What can I do for you?"

"We have need of information," commented Harry quietly as Viktor continued to casually point out different parts of the school as they made their way through the halls of the ancient castle. "There has been travel of several Death Eaters to this area over past couple of years, and I need to find out why."

Viktor shook his head. "Death Eaters are not allowed here, not after the tournament. At least, if they have the mark, they will be prevented from coming within the castle's wards."

Harry nodded in understanding, "Maybe they're not traveling as such, maybe they disguise themselves. However, it seemed that several known Death Eaters have signed into your register within the past year."

Viktor stopped, "No, we would detect them, we have new wards, no chance of problems like before. But if they were not marked, then we might have missed something."

Harry nodded in understanding, "But we know that these people traveled near here at least. They did sign the register."

Viktor shrugged, "But there are lots of places to travel from that hub. There are many villages, and the large magical cities nearby. Most people travel to the areas near the Black Sea, such as Odessa, in the Ukraine, or Constanta Bulgaria, not far where you all left from. They may have just used the hub as a station on their way to somewhere else. All travellers must sign in if they travel through that hub."

Hermione spoke up, "We thought that only people travelling here to Durmstrang use that hub."

"No, but mostly people going to and from Durmstrang use that particular hub," he explained. "The old sign was placed there when it was only used as a transport station on the way to this castle. Now it is used as a floo travel hub to other parts of Eastern Europe. You still can't get to here as a visitor except through that hub. That is why the sign remains. Students and faculty, however, have different way to get to the school."

Harry nodded in understanding as they all assumed that may have to do with the ship they saw at the tournament and the fjords up in Norway. "So, do many of the faculty and others travel to Odessa frequently? Or is there another magical city they go to more often?"

"Dah, but there is also a smaller city, near Minsk, in Belarus, that they frequent," answered Viktor, "with large magical population and large how you say muggle population too. It is a Dark place though, many unnatural occurrences there."

Daphne spoke up, "Who runs the muggle side of the city?"

"You three have lots of questions," he observed. "In the past, it was run by Russians, by secret group, KGB. The city is much nicer, cleaner now."

Harry looked to Hermione, "Sounds dangerous."

Hermione smiled at him, "Just your kind of place then, Harry."

Daphne shook her head, "Why are we going there?"

Harry ran his hand through his hair, "You know the answer to that, the messages we received in Berlin, and in Warsaw."

— — —

Harry and the two women arrived in Minsk later that day. They made their way to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Minsk, which had been newly renovated. After they checked into their suite, Harry commented about the casino he noted down stairs.

"You may think you're playing the part of a secret agent," stated Hermione looking at him crossly, "but one, you don't have a tuxedo; two, you're definitely not James Bond; and three, neither Daphne nor I am about to put on skimpy gowns and hang off your arms while you lose all of your money playing baccarat or something stupid like that."

Daphne looked at Hermione and asked, "Who is James Bond and why won't we go hang out in the casino showing off how great we look?"

Hermione threw a pillow at Daphne and growled. "You're not helping things here!"

The three then sat down at the table in the middle of the room and reviewed the information that they had. They knew that they needed to investigate the nearby town of Barysaw, where the Death Eaters and others were reportedly travelling to and from. They decide that Harry and Daphne will investigate the town in the morning while Hermione will continue to review more of the files that they have from agent 008. She complained that while most of the information that they had in the files from agent 008 were mainly about the agent's travels, there were a good five pages that were written in some sort of code and the agents in MI-6 had yet to break the code, and Hermione had been trying to figure it out on her own as well. So far, she had yet to be successful.

Early the next morning, Harry and Daphne set out on their separate missions, Harry to investigate where the Death Eaters may have travelled in the old city of Barysaw, and Daphne to investigate where they may have travelled in the new city of Barysaw. Both sides of the city had magical and muggle areas they had learned from some quick research. Meanwhile, Hermione was going to stay at their room in the hotel and work on trying to decipher 008's files.

Harry ventured into the old city and found several merchants who eventually agreed to speak with him. Some of them recognised the pictures of the Death Eaters which he had brought with him and recalled doing business with them. Mostly they had been looking to purchase various potions. But a couple of the merchants indicated that the had been looking for a jeweller and an enchanter, and there happened to be one such merchant at the far side of the city, near the river. Harry set off to find the man who was recognised as a skilled jeweller and enchanter.

At the same time, Daphne had made her way to the local markets in the newer section of Barysaw. She was able to find her way to where the magical section of the market was located. With a few well placed questions she soon discovered that several of the Death Eaters that they had information on had been fairly regular customers over the past couple of years, mostly in the purchasing of potion ingredients. Once she had discovered this she quickly ducked into an alley and sent Harry a patronus message to update him on what she had learned.

Meanwhile, Hermione had finally had success in deciphering the code to agent 008's files. Hermione was astonished to read what was hidden in those few pages. She pushed away from the desk as she prepared to send Harry and Daphne a message, when she heard a sound from behind her.

"Now, now, we can't let that information be sent to anyone, can we dear," said the woman in dark robs behind her."

Hermione moved for her wand, but she was not quick enough. There was a click and Hermione reached up to her neck as she felt something sharp before she collapsed onto the floor.

The woman in the dark robes took a quick look at the files that were scattered on the desk in front of Hermione. "So, she had finally solved the mystery of the code and deciphered these pages," she commented as she rifled through the pages. She tossed them into a trash can and threw a match into the bin. "That's enough of that," she said.

She then snapped her fingers and two men in robes came into the room. Silently she pointed at Hermione's still body and the grabbed her and picked her up. They then headed out into the hallway and left the suite. The woman in the dark robes looked around the suite quickly before she too turned and left, being sure to lock the door behind her.

Harry received the message from Daphne and realised that they were getting closer to finding this Lord Eris, so he tried to find someplace where he could contact M. He made his way into one of the nearby buildings and then found a staircase and climbed up to the roof. He pulled out a radio transceiver and tried to send a message to M, but he was unable to get any sort of signal. He looked at the piece of equipment in his hand, tapped at it several times, fiddled with the few dials on it multiple times and still he was able to get it to work. He finally gave up, figuring that the device may have been ruined with all of the ambient magic it may have been exposed to on his travels up until now.

Harry then made his way over to the new section of the city of Barysaw, found the market place, but after searching for an hour he was unable to find any evidence of where Daphne might be. He started to become concerned when he realised that he was being followed as h made his way through the marketplace. He then started going into more shops, and when he found one where he could easily walk through and exit through the back he did just that. He quickly walked down an alleyway, and pulled out his invisibility cloak and then climbed up onto a ledge above one of the doorways that led into the alleyway where he was hiding. Five minutes later, the three men who had been following him appeared in the alleyway and they were clearly looking for someone and Harry was sure that it was him.

He overheard the men muttering about having lost someone. Then one of the men commented that at least they had picked up the blonde earlier. Harry was furious with himself at this point for allowing Daphne to go off on her own. As the men were heading away from where he was hiding, he carefully cast a silent tracking charm onto two of the men as they left.

"I may not know who you are, or where you are going," Harry said to himself, "but I will find you."

With that, Harry returned to Minsk, deciding he needed to rendezvous with Hermione and that together they would set out to find and rescue Daphne.

Ten minutes later, Harry was back in the Crowne Plaza Hotel and making his way down the hall towards his suite. As he carefully opened the door to his room, he immediately noticed the stillness within the room. He called out Hermione's name as he began to search the suite. Coming upon the desk where she had been working, he noticed the ashes of the papers she had been working on in the trash can. This was alarming in and of itself. Harry then ran to the bedroom and he found that the bed was neatly made, however there was a red envelope in the middle of the bed. Upon closer inspection, he noted that his name was on the outside of the envelope.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Obviously an unpleasant place to leave the story hanging...but as I said, my goal is to complete this story within 2 - 3 chapters and finish those within the next month. I hope those who are still reading this have enjoyed this latest update, and where it is leading. The next update should not be nearly as slow in coming.<strong>


	24. Chapter 24 - The Lord Eris

Harry was stunned as he stood in the middle of the room and stared at the envelope in front of him. He considered everything he had learned so far this day, and he was not happy with the conclusions which he was reaching. He then quickly cast a detection for charms and hidden magic on the envelope and he was actually surprised when he found none. He reached out and carefully picked it up and carried the envelope over to the desk where Hermione had been working. He then used magic to lift a letter opener to slice open the envelope and then empty the contents onto the desk. A simple folded piece of paper fell out, and Harry once again scanned it for any hidden charms or jinxes and found that it was completely absent of any magic. He then picked it up and read the note.

"Lord Potter,

It is nice of you to make this journey all the way here to Minsk. However, I have become increasingly concerned over some of your behaviour of late and I am not sure that you are truly ready to join me in my endeavours. Therefor, I have had to take measures into my own hands to ensure your cooperation. You will soon receive further instructions and upon following these you will eventually be reunited with your lovely ladies.

Do not try and double cross me, I am much more powerful than you can guess. That much should be obvious to you by now.

Yours,

Lord Eris."

Harry read the note and tossed it to one side. He had guessed correctly when he assumed that Lord Eris was the one responsible for the abduction of both Hermione and Daphne. Harry needed to figure out what had happened so that he could regain the upper hand in this situation and to make sure that he kept both women safe. He wasn't entirely sure what the power base was of this Lord Eris, but Harry didn't want to leave things up to chance either.

Harry looked down at the waste bin that held the ashes of Hermione's notes. He lifted up the container and dumped the remains of the notes onto one side of the table. He was surprised that several of the pieces of paper had not been completely destroyed. He then tried casting a restoration spell on the paper remnants and some of the pieces actually formed together and some of the burned marks managed to fade slightly.

Harry inspected the paper closely and he was able to make out a few phrases here and there, and the most telling one he found was the most surprising.

In Hermione's own handwriting he found a cryptic sentence: "Agent 008 blamed the magical world for her own parents' death."

As he finished looking through the ashes and the remnants of the papers Harry couldn't make out any more information. As he pondered the clue he had before him, the phone in the room began to ring. Harry was startled by the ring and then he walked slowly across to the room and answered it. The concierge informed him that a message was left for him down at the desk. Harry acknowledged the message and went down to the lobby to retrieve the message.

Harry was handed another red envelope by the concierge, which Harry was quite concerned with as he contemplated what this might mean. He took the envelope and opened it as he made his way back to his suite as fast as possible, concerned about what he might find back in his room.

The new letter read:

"If you want to see either one of these two ladies alive again, you will do as I say.

Pick up the stone that is in the pouch in your room.

Bring it with you.

Follow the directions that I will give you to my location.

Lord Eris."

Harry nearly ran down the hall to find the door to his suite was left open. No one was in his room, but he did find a small pouch of red velvet left on the middle of the bed. He carefully examined it after checking it for curses and compulsion charms. Once he was sure it was free of magic he summoned the pouch and he could clearly feel some sort of stone inside of it, one that felt similar to the gem stone which had been inserted into his scar weeks ago back in his manor during the night of his party.

* * *

><p>In an undisclosed location<p>

A tall woman in dark grey robes was waiting at the end of a large room. She was seated at what appeared to be a throne of sorts, or at least a fancy chair. On either side of her were some elaborate glassed in chambers. Approaching her were several men, each holding a struggling woman who was gagged.

"I told you fools to secure them properly," commanded the woman in grey.

The man in front of the two groups who appeared to be leading them all bowed his head slightly, "They're more vigorous than we expected, Lord Eris."

"Then stun them if you must," she commanded, "you're a wizard aren't you? You do know how to use magic? That's what you have that silly little wand for, isn't it? Or do you expect that you will always be having muggles show you up for all of your lives?"

The leader shook his head no, and then he turned and with a trembling hand he quickly cast a quick _stupefy_ at the two hostages. However as his hand was shaking he also stunned one of the men who was holding a hostage.

"Fools!" bellowed the Lord Eris. "Do I have to do everything myself? Now, bring them over here and lay them down on this table."

The men dragged the stunned women one at a time and placed them as instructed. "Now, pull out a few locks of their hair, and place them in the bags over here," instructed their leader as she waved at a small table to one side with two small plastic bags that also had several vials on it as well.

The woman who had bene identified as Lord Eris then walked over to the now unconscious bodies as they lay on the table. "You both make such wonderful bait for the Lord Potter-Black, it's such a shame that neither of you will probably survive the night."

She then laughed as she walked over to the table with the bags of hair and the vials. She then removed a couple of hairs from each of the bags and placed some in one vial and some in a second vial. She held each of the vials carefully in her hands and she then turned around and instructed her men to bring the women to the chairs that were seated in the glass chambers. "Secure them in the chairs, quickly now!"

Once the men had completed that task she walked over in front of the blonde woman. She commanded one of the wizards behind her to enervate her with a spell. Daphne Greengrass was groggy as she came around, and suddenly felt a horrible tasting liquid being poured down her throat, quickly followed by another potion that wasn't quite as foul tasting. Before she could understand what was happening she was unconscious once again.

The Lord Eris commanded the same thing to be done to the other woman. Once again, after having the woman secured to the chair in the glass chamber, the self proclaimed lord had her enervated, only to force two potions Hermione Granger's throat before she was fully aware. And just like Daphne before her, she was soon unconscious before she was able to take in anything about her surroundings.

The leader of the men who had secured the two witches turned to face their leader. "Lord Eris, now what is thy bidding?"

"We wait," she sneered. "Lord Potter-Black should be smart enough to follow my clues and make his way here. You should give him resistance as he tries to make his way to my chambers."

The wizards seemed to be nervous at her words. "Don't worry about him, he is too noble to truly hurt anyone. He is gently, he never kills. If he does anything to you, the worst he would do is stun you."

"But he killed Voldemort!" protested one of the other men.

Lord Eris glared at the man who spoke up. "Explain things to him, Jugson."

The leader, who was now revealed as Jugson turned to the man behind him. "Potter had no choice in that confrontation, there was a prophecy stating that one had to kill the other. In every other battle Potter was in he only used stunners or disarming spells. He doesn't hurt people. He once tried to use the cruciatus curse, it is told, and he couldn't do it. He's too nice."

Lord Eris laughed, "But that will change after tonight!"

Jugson turned to look at the two women in the glass chambers, "What did you give them?"

"Just a little something to sedate them until Potter arrives," she said with a smile. "And something to make things more interesting."

* * *

><p>Harry held the pouch in his hand, realising that it held a gemstone similar to the one that had been forced into his scar previously. He wondered what would happen if this was placed in his scar again as he paced about the suite. He then noticed that there was another note in the room, this was on the desk. He cursed silently that he had not placed magical locks on their room for their own protection, or when he had gone down to the lobby to retrieve the message.<p>

He picked up the note and looked at it quickly and grunted at the new instructions. He wasn't surprised by his new destination. He moved quickly to equip himself with two wands, making sure that his wand holsters were working properly. Harry exited the room, this time making sure that the room was securely locked behind him, and then he made his way down to the lobby, trying to figure out how he would make his way back to Barysaw.

As Harry exited the hotel and stepped onto the sidewalk, he noticed a large dark Hummer limousine pulled up just at that time. Two men in dark suits with dark sunglasses also stepped out of the hotel behind him just then and grasped his arms, and one held a gun to his ribs. In thick English they commanded, "Get into the car with us if you would please, Mr. Potter. Less people get hurt this way."

Harry resigned himself to following their instructions as the door to the limousine opened for him. He was forced into the car through the now open door. The two men who were behind him got into a different section of the car. Harry looked up and came face to face with a large man, with a thick beard and moustache who was smiling at him.

"So, you are the infamous Harry Potter, no?" spoke the large man with a gentle laugh.

Harry felt like growling. "And you are Lord Eris?"

The man had a confused look on his face. "I know not of this Lord Eris you speak of, young friend. My name is Sergei. I had been friends with your uncles. I knew Sirius and Remus when they were on the run a few years back. We crossed paths at one time or another. They did me favours. I did them favours. Let us just say I owe them favour. I have read of your escapades across Europe. Sergei thinks something is not adding up. Sergei's contacts inform him that there is trouble in Barysaw, trouble that Sergei does not want to get involved in, but Harry Potter has been seen in Barysaw and now Harry Potter's women are missing from his hotel in Minsk."

"What a minute," stated Harry, "how do you know all of this?"

Sergei roared in laugher as the Hummer continued through the streets of Minsk. "It is my business to know much of what happens in and around Minsk, and other parts of Eastern Europe. Especially if it might affect my business. And lately there has been business around Barysaw that has been affecting Sergei's business."

Harry asked, "What exactly is your business?"

Sergei smiled broadly, "That depends, what do you need to buy? Or sell? Do you have any special work that needs to be done? I can supply you with the equipment. Yes, that is how you English would say it. I am a supplier."

"You supply equipment? I'm not sure why someone who supplies equipment would be interested in what I am up to or why you would have a couple of men throw me into your car at gun point," commented Harry.

Harry looked around the car and realised that the Hummer was well protected and that Sergei himself seemed to be well armed. Sergei tapped on the windows. "Bullet proof glass, it is much safer, no. But it doesn't protect from missiles and such."

Harry paled at the implications as he realised just what sorts of equipment Sergei supplied for people.

Sergei noticed the change in Harry's expression and laughed again. "Now you understand, my young friend. Your uncles, they were good men. I have heard they did not survive some unpleasantness back in England. For that, I am truly sorry. You have my condolences."

Harry nodded in acceptance of Sergei's sentiment. "But why take me at gunpoint?"

Sergei held up his hands and shrugged. "It seemed the easiest way to get your attention. I suppose this Lord Eris person has taken your lovely ladies. I have seen their pictures in the papers with you and yes, they do look lovely. You are one lucky sobaka {_*_}."

Harry nodded slightly. "So, you clearly have my attention."

Sergei laughed again, "That I do. It seems that you may need some help, with your women missing, and this Lord Eris person causing trouble for you. Perhaps this is same person causing trouble for Sergei, no?"

"This Lord Eris person, as you say," explained Harry, "has made it clear that I am to follow their directions and return to Barysaw on my own if I have any chance of seeing those lovely ladies alive again."

"Threatening women," said Sergei as he shook his head, "that is just not right. Clearly you cannot trust someone who would do that. No man who is honourable would ever do such a thing."

"I cannot think of any reason why this Lord Eris is honourable," agreed Harry. "However, I do need to rescue the ladies, find Lord Eris, and either eliminate him, or bring him back to MI-6."

"Harry Potter is secret agent? Now _that_ is unexpected," said Sergei with a laugh. "Your uncles would not have predicted this I would wager. Seeing as you need to head to Barysaw, we can take you there, after a brief stop at one of my supply houses. If you find something there you might need, then it is yours."

Harry tilted his head slightly and smiled, "That seems awfully generous of you, my new friend."

Sergei smiled back at Harry, "As I said, I owed your uncles a favour. We will leave it at that."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the comment, realising that he probably wouldn't get any more of the story out of Sergei, at least not at this time. But as he considered what he might be able to acquire, having a few muggle weapon tricks up his sleeve might help him prepare for facing a self proclaimed dark wizard. Whatever happened when he got to Barysaw, Harry knew that whoever was there waiting for Harry would not expect Harry to have anything other than his wands.

After travelling for thirty minutes, the Hummer limo came to a stop. The doors opened and Sergei wave for Harry to exit. They entered a small warehouse where Harry saw many rocket launchers, machine guns, a couple of tanks, and rows of guns, stacks of ammunition and boxes that Harry assumed were explosives. Sergei seemed to be delighted with everything he had in the warehouse.

"Take your pick, young Harry," he said with his jovial tone as he gestured at the entire room.

Harry's jaw dropped as he looked around. "I really have no idea what to take, where to begin. I've never even used a gun, or a grenade or anything."

The men who were with Sergei started laughing at Harry's comments, but they never lowered the weapons they had with them. Harry turned and looked at them and felt a little uneasy. Sergei walked up to Harry and placed a friendly arm around Harry.

"It is okay, my young friend. We will show you things you can take with you," he said with a smile. "Small things, how you say, concealed weapons. Things that may help you. I know you are different. Sirius and Remus, they were different. Didn't like my toys. But you might need them."

Twenty minutes later Harry had an automatic pistol that he had been instructed on how to use after releasing the safety. This was secured behind his back. He also had several small grenades and a couple of smoke bombs on a bandoleer around his chest as well.

"If this helps you, my new friend," said Sergei as they got back into the Hummer, "then I am glad. We will take you to outside of Barysaw. From there you will be on your own. However, if you need me, signal me with that radio we gave you."

A short drive later, Harry climbed out of the Hummer after being kissed on the cheek by Sergei. "Good luck, friend Harry. Save your lovely ladies."

Harry smiled as he left the Hummer. He knew that Sergei and his men could not help him at this point, for the instructions were clear. If Harry did not come to Barysaw on his own, the lives of Hermione and Daphne were at risk.

Harry walked into the old city. When he passed the jeweller's shop he ducked in there and spoke to the old man once again. This time he made it clear he needed information about the enchanting of small gemstones, and he was not going to take anything other than the truth about his work. The old jeweller was now shaking and sweating as Harry was trying to get information from him.

"So, it is clear that you have enchanted small gemstones," stated Harry.

The jeweller simply nodded, but he did not speak.

Harry then spoke less sternly, "Whoever commissioned the work on the stones, I suppose that they threatened you if you ever spoke of the work that you had done."

Harry received no response.

Harry frowned. "Could you undo the enchantment if I showed you one of the stones?"

The man's eyes grew big, but he shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he might be able to give it a try.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later Harry was back on the streets of Barysaw, and he looked at the note from the bedroom. He new that it was not enchanted so he wondered how it was supposed to tell him where to go now that he had arrived in the old city.<p>

Harry was near the end of the road as he surveyed the area near the river. There was power plant. It was on the eastern most part of the river and the road ended at the gates, which were locked. Just next to the power plant was an old warehouse. Harry couldn't read the words in cyrillic, but he was surprised that there were words in English. Sire Power was written underneath the Ukrainian name. Harry stared at the sign. He wondered how he had missed that the first time he came to Barysaw. He cursed under his breath.

"Really, an anagram of Eris, or Sire spelled backwards? Is it really that stupid? I can't believe that I didn't see that the last time I was here. How obvious could someone be," muttered Harry as he made his way to the warehouse.

Harry made his way up to the warehouse and found the doors to be locked. A simple unlocking charm worked wonders. "Don't get cocky kid," he told himself as he stepped into the building.

Harry took a few steps and paused, sensing something wasn't quite right, he sent his right hand wand into his hand and quickly put up a shield, just in time to block a stunning spell.

A few spells later and thee are two stunned wizards lying near Harry. He quickly examined them and removed their wands from them and tossed them aside. Harry stayed crouched down as he tried to ascertain what to expect next. This was not a simple warehouse. The building had been completely redone inside, and Harry could tell that it seemed to be a maze of connecting rooms.

"Well, it clearly is a trap," he said out loud, to no one other than himself. "There's nothing for it, other than to keep going onwards." He cast a quick revealing charm and could not detect anyone else in the room with him, so he then made his way to the door on the far side.

Harry then slowly opened the door and hesitated before stepping into the room, wanting to make sure he wasn't about to be stunned just as he entered. He decided to enter the room in a crouch, which was wise as a blue tinged curse flew just over his head. Harry rolled to his left and quickly had both of his wands out and was casting a shield with one hand and offensive spells with another. His bone breaking hex caught his attacker off guard. Harry heard a scream in pain.

"No fair," came the scream in agony as someone fell to the floor. "You're only supposed to use stunners, nothing truly dangerous!"

"Someone told you wrong," called back Harry. "You tell me where to go and what to expect, then I'll make it easier on you."

"Never," called back the wizard moaning in pain. "Lord Eris will kill me if I do that."

Harry sent another bone breaking curse at the man, who yelled I pain again.

"What in Merlin's name was that for?" he cried out.

"I assume that you were responsible for one or both of my friends' disappearances," called back Harry. "I don't like that. You won't help me find them. You suffer. You're of no further use to me, you suffer more."

"But Lord Eris will kill me!" he protested again.

"And you think I won't," called back Harry. He then sent out another spell that stunned the man.

Harry then made his way to the other side of the room to the door. He again carefully opened the door and nothing happened. He rolled into the room and no curses or spells shot at him. Harry stood up cast a spell to search for any bodies in the room. He didn't detect any. Then he started across the room and he saw what looked like a spell coming towards him and he quickly cast a shield, however the blue ray came crashing right through his shield and sent him flying back against the wall. Harry was slightly dazed by this as he tried to figure out what happen. He didn't detect any magic that came at him and he knew his shield should given at least some amount of protection. Harry was wondering what was going on. He then heard a sound of a mechanical door opening and he heard a popping sound. Realising that his shield spell would be ineffective he conjured a table in front of him that was almost instantaneously destroyed by two incoming projectiles. However, the destruction of the table stopped whatever was shot at him.

Harry tried casting a bombarda spell at the doors where the projectiles came from but something rose up out of the floor and blocked his spell. Harry was frustrated by that, as he had assumed his spell would destroy whatever was launching the small rockets at him. Then the door opened again and Harry quickly conjured a brick wall in front of him as he dove to the floor to his left. The small missiles hit the wall and caused a small explosion sending the rubble throughout the room, much of it falling on top of Harry.

Harry shook it off and realised that his spells may not get through to the wall, so he decided he had enough and quickly pulled out one of the grenades and tossed it at the door where the missiles had bene launched from, hoping that the shield that stopped his spell wouldn't block the grenade. Apparently the shield was triggered to respond to magic as the grenade sailed clear to far wall and exploded just below the mechanical door where the missiles were fired from.

Harry was relieved when the dust settled and he could see that there was a hole in the wall and a door was hanging from its hinges near the hole. "I guess that's where I head next," he said to himself.

Harry came to a long corridor which he noticed had a number of muggle type cameras as well as some laser type beams at various levels from about 6 inches off of the floor to a height of 6 feet off of the floor. Harry shook his head as he considered what to do next. He silently thanked Sergei for the help he had received. He pulled out a smoke bomb and tossed it into the middle of the corridor. After waiting for the smoke to obscure all of the cameras, Harry reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a miniature broom, which he quickly enlarged silently. Sitting atop the broom and leaning in close to it he was grateful for the high ceilings in the hallway so he could easily fly over the highest laser beams just below the ceiling. He then landed in front of the far door and stepped through.

Harry entered a large chamber and was slightly surprised to see sitting on a throne a woman in dark grey robes. He quickly tried to take in the site before him. On either side of this throne were two large glass chambers, holding Daphne and Hermione prisoners.

The woman in grey stood up and was pointing something at Harry, which he quickly realised was a remote control device and not a wand. Harry quickly scanned the room and noted several monitors or television screens around the room.

"Drop your wand, Potter," stated the woman. "All I have to do is push one of these buttons, and one of several unpleasant deaths will occur to either one of your women. You can choose how they die, or I can choose how they die. Or they can both die if you move any closer, or if you don't drop your wand immediately."

Harry dropped the wand from his right hand on the floor in front of him, not taking his eyes of his tormentor.

"Good," stated the woman. "Now these are the conditions of your surrender. You will take the gemstone which is in the pouch you found in your room. You will place it into your scar, just like the one that was placed there before, by the lovely Cho Chang. It's such a shame what happened to her after she failed me."

Harry stiffened at those words. "So, you're the Lord Eris, who has been trying to get me to turn dark?"

"Stop trying to change the subject, young man," hissed the grey cloaked lady, taking a step down from her throne. "Do as I say and things will go well for you. Once you do that you can join me, and then you select who lives and dies, who joins us and who gets disposed of. Because together we can make things happen. Together, we can go back and take care of M and MI-6. Then, once that is done, you can go back and take care of your ministry."

Harry pulled the velvet bag out of his pocket and stared at it. Then he looked up at Lord Eris. "But why? Why would I do all of this? Vengeance for my parents? Vengeance for an unfair life? Vengeance for spite, for fun?"

Lord Eris ignored his questions. "We begin by your placing the gemstone back into your scar. That seemed to be such a fun experience from everything that I heard."

Harry looked at the pouch once more and then back at the woman. "But why? And how would you know about what happened?"

Lord Eris sighed. "Why do fools need to know why? Fine, I'll explain some of this to you. I am a technology expert who worked with MI-6. I learned how to make technology work in the presence of magic. Your home is bugged so I could observe everything that happened. Think of it as my tools placed in your way. Easily manipulated fools, such as Cho Chang working for me, and she not even knowing why she was doing this. Getting people close to you to be your undoing has been so much fun."

Harry relaxed slightly, "So, that explains what became of 008. You're 008. The agent never died. Just as I suspected."

"You figured that out? I'm surprised," she stated. "Most magicals aren't smart enough to deduce anything like that."

Harry took a lazy step forward, trying to seem interested in hearing her story. "But I still want to know, Why me? Why involve me in all of your plans?"

Lord Eris laughed. "Because you managed to survive the beast called Voldemort. Tom Riddle killed my family. No one in Magical Britain could stop him, except for you. You waited many years once he returned before you stopped him. You should have stopped him sooner. Maybe if you did, we wouldn't be here right now. But, you did stop him, when no one else stopped him. They allowed people to suffer at his hands at the orphanage, which is where my parents had to go when they were young. Then, when he became powerful after he graduated, he returned and killed everyone there, and everyone he knew from there, including my parents. Did no one from the ministry even think to look into the villages he targeted in the muggle world? No, because you magical types just assumed he targeted random towns. But he didn't, he went after everyone he knew from when he was young. Anyone who may have caused him harm, or who may have offended him in some way from the days when he was a child growing up in that orphanage. He tracked them all down. He found them, and killed them all, or rather he had his death eaters do it for him."

Harry was amazed to hear her rationalisation. If what she said was true, there was a pattern to Riddle's attacks on muggles, but that would be hard to prove. But perhaps that is the kind of information that someone working within MI-6 might have been able to come up with. Harry looked at her and tilted his had as he asked her another question. "If you hate magicals so much because of what Riddle did, and because the ministry didn't do enough about it, then why have his Death Eaters work for you if you're trying to kill them?"

"Cheap expendable labor force," she laughed. "I don't care if they die along the way. By the way, nice work on Jugson out there. He'll be suffering for quite a while if no one puts him out of his misery. And to think I told him you wouldn't use anything stronger than a stunner."

"You don't have any magic," stated Harry. Then he asked, "So how did you manage to do some of the things you claimed to do?"

"Quite simple, really," she boasted. "Working for MI-6 as a special liaison who understood magic and technology I created technology that could work in the presence of magic. I used this in front of some Death Eaters and others, to convince them I was really a powerful witch. They were so gullible that after that they did all of the magical work for me. Some of what you saw here was technology made to replicate magic. Force fields that resembled blasting hexes. It went right through your magical shields didn't it? See, technology can easily beat magic."

Harry shook his head as he listened to her, then he eyed where his wand was on the floor to his side.

"Don't even think of summoning your wand back to you," she said sharply, noticing where Harry's eyes had drifted. She waved the remote control device in her hand for Harry to see. "I press one button, and the Granger woman dies. I press another, and Greengrass dies. I press another, and they both die. I press another, and there is a device here that will kill all three of you, but allow me to escape. Face it Harry, you can't win. Did you ever watch Star Trek? This is your Kobayashi Maru. This is your no win scenario. I win, you lose. This is my game, I wrote all of the rules."

"What if I change the rules?" asked Harry.

"You don't understand," she said. "If I die, both of your women die with me. A nice little failsafe to protect me in case you come up with some way to possibly defeat me. But I have been studying wizards for my entire career in MI-6. You all are my specialty. So, you need to just concede defeat. Take the gem out of the pouch, and place it up against your forehead. I know that it is charmed to slide into the scar, to take the place of whatever Riddle left there when you were an infant, just like the original gem did courtesy of Miss Chang."

Harry gritted his teeth as he tossed the bag from one hand to the other. He loosened the drawstring on the red velvet bag and let the gem slide out onto the palm of his hand. He looked at it tentatively.

"You don't have any choice, Harry, so you might as well get it over with," she chided.

Harry looked at her and frowned. Then he looked at the stone as he slowly moved it towards his forehead. As it neared his faded scar, it seemed to magically pop into the scar. Harry fell to his knees and gritted his teeth as he tried to hold back a scream of agony.

His head fell into his hands. And then he collapsed onto the floor with his hands on either side of his head.

Lord Eris was startled. "It didn't react like this last time," she said out loud. "Perhaps it is just the fact that this is the second time we have had to do this," she mused, not reacting to Harry's cries of pain. She stood still and crossed her arms, still holding the remote loosely in one hand.

Harry shook his head. Then he staggered slightly as he stood up. He used his hands on his legs to help him get his balance and then he wiped his face with his left hand. He brushed his nose with his right wrist and then he looked over at Lord Eris. "I didn't expect that," he said as he tried to catch his breath.

"That's okay, my young apprentice," she said with a smile. She then turned to face the other side of her throne room. "You can choose one of these lovelies to serve you, the other we will have to dispose of, surely you can understand that."

Harry snapped his right wrist and his wand, which he had palmed, was in his hand. He called "accio remote" and he quickly had the control in his hand. With his other hand he had his second wand out and cast a body bind hex around Lord Eris and she was now immobilised.

She spun around and looked at him. "You fool, I told you that you can't possibly save them both!"

Harry looked at the glass enclosures, and both women were gagged. They were struggling and were shaking their heads as if indicating that he should save the other person. Harry looked at the controls and tried to figure out which ones he need to press.

Lord Eris laughed at him. "Once that control left my hand, several things began to happen, a poison entered their chambers, and a mechanical device was timed to be released. There is no way you can save them both. Even I can't stop that from happening."

Harry glared at her and stunned her as he made his way to one of the enclosures. He could see that both enclosures were filling up with gas quickly. Harry knew he had very little time to act, and he knew that it would be difficult at best to save even one of his two witches.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Sobaka: _Ukrainian for dog_

**Yes, yes, a horrible place to end this chapter….but it was necessary based on the plans for the next chapter. Which should be the final chapter to the story. **


	25. Chapter 25 - the final battle - or not

**AN: I am not Joss Whedon, I am not Christopher Nolan, and I am clearly not JKR. This chapter has been reworked, re thought out, re planned multiple times. I have tried different drafts, different scenarios of how this story should end. Various versions of the end of this story would probably anger most of the readers who made it this far, and most of the ways I considered ending this story left me feeling as though it just didn't work, as though something was cheated, something was missing, something wasn't right. Then this ending came — and it seemed to fit much better with the rest of the story. Perhaps you'll agree, perhaps not. But it's not as dark as it could have been, not as candy coated as it otherwise might have been either. It is not what was planned even as recently as 2 weeks ago, certainly not what was envisioned when I began writing this story - considering half way through the story I completely changed my idea of exactly how I thought it should end. And here we have it...finally. I hope you all enjoy it. (recently edited to fix errors from rewrite)**

* * *

><p>Harry was seated at a table on a balcony at a villa, overlooking Lake Geneva, from the southern side. He had looked out over this view for several days, no, weeks he reminded himself. While he knew the view was beautiful, he still felt a pang in his heart as he thought about what had happened just a mere two weeks previous. The glass of wine on the table sat untouched.<p>

His face was blank, expressionless as he tried to hide his emotions. Hermione came up and sat down next to him. She tried smiling at him as she took his hand. Harry turned and looked at her and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I was hoping this might cheer you up," she said to him.

Harry reached out and gently cupped the side of her face. "I know you mean well, really I do."

Then he stood up and walked to the edge of the balcony.

The woman stood up and turned away, holding herself tight, tears started to flow down her face. She then turned and went back into the villa. Harry turned and watched her walk away. He followed her in, as he did so he glanced at the now empty plastic bags that lay on the counter next to an empty vial. The bags that had once contained various hairs. Harry swallowed hard as he walked past her and into the kitchen. He felt his forehead ache as he grabbed a glass of water and a couple of pills. He drank the water and swallowed the pills before heading into the bedroom. He collapsed into a large chair there, as he recalled that day in Barysaw.

— — —

"You can't possibly save them both!" called out Lord Eris.

Harry had then knocked out Lord Eris.

As he moved across the room both women who were gagged seemed to be frantically trying to get him to go for the other one by shaking their heads. Harry had then moved towards Hermione to rescue her, while he pulled out the pistol from the holster on his back and used that to shoot the glass out from the enclosure around Daphne. He had managed to save Hermione by breaking the glass with his foot and then pulling her free. However, just as soon as he did that the chairs the women were in had catapulted upwards. Harry was on his way to save Daphne but he was not quick enough. He collapsed in front of the destroyed enclosure. Only to have arms wrapped around him to hold him and comfort him as he cried.

Harry gathered himself. He stood up and pointed the pistol at Lord Eris, he pulled back part way on the trigger and then he pointed the gun down yet he did not discharge it. Hermione looked around the room, and saw the small table with the two bags of hair and quickly grabbed them. The two of them quickly left the building.

Harry made his way out of the building and he radioed for Sergei. Sergei was waiting for him in the hummer limo. Sergei called for more of his men and then he sent them into the building.

Sergei simply said to Harry, "So, that woman, she is the one who has been my competition. You have done me a great service. It seems I owe you favour, Harry Potter." He smiled and nodded his head.

Harry looked at Hermione and smiled, then he turned back to Sergei. "I ask two things. One, a radio, and two, transportation."

Sergei laughed. "Both are easy. First, I need you to get in the vehicle."

Harry and Hermione climbed up into the Hummer limo. The large car then sped away from the warehouse. Five minutes later they heard a loud explosion. Harry and Hermione turned and stared out of the back window as the flames climbed higher from the building they had just been in. They turned and looked at Sergei. Sergei in turn shrugged his shoulders. "She was competitor for my business. She was also causing trouble for my young friend, no?" He then tapped the headphone in his ear as he spoke to Harry again. "Your other friend, there was no saving her. My men checked. They removed her body before they left though. She can have proper burial."

Harry nodded his head in appreciation. "Thank you, Sergei, that means a lot to us."

Hermione quietly clung to Harry as they drove away. After twenty minutes they pulled over and one of Sergei's men knocked on the door and handed Sergei a satellite phone. Sergei raised an eyebrow as he handed it over to Harry. "I do believe that this will enable you to contact your people. Do you know what number you need to call?"

Harry took the satellite phone and called MI-6. "This is a message for M. Is this Tanner? Nice speaking to you, dog breath. Now, listen up, as I am only saying this once, so you better get this straight. Lord Eris was, in fact, 008. Don't worry about that, she is gone now. All of this was a set up to bring down MI-6 and then eventually magical world. She had blamed the magical world for the death of her parents at the hands of Voldemort. Yes, you really should do a better job of screening who you hire in the future."

Harry turned off the phone and tossed it back to Sergei. Sergei stared at Harry. "They will track that to me, you know."

"No, they won't," laughed Harry. "I think I know you well enough by now."

The two men laughed together.

"Now about this transportation," asked Sergei.

"Yes," replied Harry as he pulled Hermione in close. "We need a plane to take us somewhere far away from here, far away from England, preferably somewhere nice and warm and quiet where no one knows who we are. And where no one cares who we are."

Sergei laughed again. "That will be arranged right away my young friend."

As they headed towards a remote private airport, Harry turned and looked at Hermione. Hermione's body started to shake and tremble in front of him. Harry started to fear what was about to happen. A tear started to flow down his cheek.

Suddenly he heard his name called out from somewhere and he started to look around as he felt confused.

_Then Harry felt someone slap his cheek..._

* * *

><p>"Harry, Harry!" came the plaintive voice.<p>

Harry tried to open his eyes, but found it hard to do. He felt his head was throbbing with a sharp pain in the middle of his forehead. His eyelids felt heavy and he had the sensation of vertigo and the warm sensation of having had his face slapped recently.

"Wake up, Harry," called another voice, "snap out of it!"

Harry's brain tried to place where he was and who was speaking to him. As he started to understand his surroundings, he realised that he was lying in a bed. A very comfortable bed at that. He tried to place the voices. It came to him that the first voice was that of Hermione, and the second voice belonged to Daphne.

His addled mind was having a hard time making sense of this.

"He seems to be having a hard time coming out of it this time," said Hermione.

"I could douse him with an aguamenti spell if you think it might help," replied Daphne.

"It might," added Hermione, "but that really wouldn't be fair to the poor dear. It's not his fault he still has these spells."

Harry slowly reached a hand up to his forehead. He could feel his head throbbing. He blinked a few times and then shielded the light from his eyes. "Is that cursed gem still there?" he asked.

"Apparently," said Daphne softly as she sat next to Harry, gently taking one of his hands in hers.

Hermione rubbed his forehead with a washcloth. "This one seemed much worse than the others. What happened this time?"

"It started out with my sitting on a balcony, on a villa, I think. I was with Daphne, who was polyjuiced as you. Then I started having flashbacks about the rescue. About how I thought it all had gone," said Harry, his voice cracking slightly as he told of what he had been experiencing.

"Have you not been able to recall the actual events ever since that day?" asked a worried Hermione.

"I get some images," stated Harry, "but the false images from the gem keep getting in the way. I thought I had made it clear to the jeweller to remove the enchantments from that stone."

Daphne looked at him and frowned. "Apparently he was more afraid of 008 then he was of you."

"Why don't we just get rid of it, like the last one?" asked Harry.

Hermione frowned. "I did that once for you, and I don't know if I could do it again. It made such a bloody mess."

Daphne looked at Hermione, who then added, "No really, there was blood everywhere, I wasn't using a curse word."

Harry looked to Daphne. "Do it, we need to get it out of there."

Daphne turned back to Hermione, who said simply, "I just used a sharp knife. We cleaned up the blood when we were done. It's not really that deep." She looked back at Harry. "I didn't think about removing it because you said that you had the curse removed from it already."

Harry shook his head slightly, which made him feel a little woozy again. "Just get it out of there already," he said, determined to get this behind him.

Hermione frowned and looked over at Daphne. Daphne got up and left the room.

She quickly returned and looked at Hermione. "Do you want do this, or should I?"

Hermione shook her head and turned slightly pale, "I'd rather not, as I've done that once before."

Daphne smiled wryly. "So, it turns to me." She then turned and looked at Harry who simply gritted his teeth.

"Just do it," he said.

Daphne lifted the knife and shook her head slightly. She slowly raised the knife to his forehead as Harry closed his eyes. She lightly placed the tip of the knife against the scar, then quickly inserted the knife. Daphne made the incision quick and decisively, resulting in an immediate spurt of blood. Harry grunted quietly and grabbed the sheets of the bed with his fists. Daphne then twisted her wrist slightly as she felt the tip of the knife hit the gemstone. The stone then popped out through the incision she had made as blood continued to pour out of his scar.

Hermione immediately cast a healing spell on Harry's forehead as Daphne scooped the stone up with a rag she had brought back with the knife.

Harry let out a slight grunt as the procedure ended. "Did anyone consider casting a numbing charm on my forehead before doing that? Surgeons usually don't perform procedures without anaesthesia." He took a deep breath before he added, "Bloody hell that hurts when you do that."

"Language, Harry," admonished Hermione.

Harry looked at her and rolled his eyes. "Really? You try having someone stick a knife in your forehead."

Hermione leaned over and kissed him on the check. "You've had worse, and we both know it, so now deal with it."

Harry then felt a massive head rush as the memories came back...

— — —

"_You can't possibly save them both!" called out Lord Eris._

_Harry glared at her, "Don't tell me what I can and cannot do!"_

_Suddenly there was a loud crash from the far side of the room. A Hummer came crashing through the wall. _

_Lord Eris turned around and glared at the sight in front of her. "I told you to come alone!" she shouted._

_Harry replied, "I don't listen very well. It's a bad habit I developed back in school. Drove my professors mad, it did."_

_Two men jumped out of the Hummer as Harry drew his wand and stunned Lord Eris. As she collapsed Harry ran to free Hermione from the closest chamber as he called out to Sergei's men to free Daphne from the other chamber. A gas was being released into the chambers and the two women were frantically struggling. Harry pulled out the pistol from the holster on his back and used that to shoot the glass out from the enclosure around Hermione and then he kicked out the remaining glass with his feet and then he pulled her free._

_At the same time the two men had managed to break open the other chamber and pull out Daphne. Just after the two women were pulled to safety the chairs in the matching chambers were catapulted towards the ceiling. If the women were still there it was clear that they would have died instantly._

_Harry soon had both women hugging him and holding him tight as the gags and binds were being removed from them. _

_Behind Harry, the Lord Eris managed to wake up and started to stand. She pulled out a gun she had hidden in her robes. However, Sergei had stepped out of the Hummer and saw this, and he immediately discharged multiple shots into her back. Everyone turned around to see the supposed dark lord drop to the ground in a motionless heap as a pool of blood collected around her._

_Sergei walked up to Harry after stopping to look at the woman whom he had just shot. "So, my young friend, these are your lovely ladies, no? That woman was my former competitor. She made things very difficult for me, and for others. She didn't play nice." He then laughed, "But then, who can define nice in my business, yes?"_

_Harry smiled at the jovial Ukrainian, as the two women holding on to him started to shake and grunt. Harry turned and looked at them as they doubled over._

_Sergei and his aides just stared wide eyed as the two women changed in front of their eyes. The blonde woman now had dark hair, and the brunette now was taller and had blonde hair. _

_Harry looked between the two as they recovered, "I should have predicted she would have tried something like that."_

_Hermione spoke up first as she recovered from the discomfort of the transformation, "But if she was a muggle as she explained, how would she have potions to do this to us?"_

_Daphne answered for Harry, "She explained earlier that she had Death Eaters working for her. She studied Voldemort and his followers. They thought they were following a new Dark Lord, only to be following someone who was determined to end them all."_

_Sergei stepped forward as he shook his head. "I saw many strange things with your so called uncles, I do not question the things I see with you. However, now I think you owe me favour, yes?"_

_Harry smiled at Sergei as he walked over and gave the large man a hug. "Thank you for your help, my friend. But can ask for two favours from you? I need a sat phone and plane to get out of here."_

_Sergei laughed. "Both are easy. First, I need you to get in the vehicle." _

_Harry, Daphne and Hermione climbed up into the Hummer. Sergei drove them out of the building to where the larger limo was waiting for them. They then climbed into the hummer and sped away from the warehouse. Five minutes later they heard a loud explosion. The three of them turned and stared out of the back window as the flames climbed higher from the building they had just been in. They turned and looked at Sergei. Sergei in turn shrugged his shoulders. "She was competitor for my business. She was also causing trouble for my young friend, no? She definitely won't be causing trouble for anyone else."_

_Harry nodded his head in appreciation. "Thank you, Sergei."_

_Hermione and Daphne both quietly clung to Harry as they drove away. After twenty minutes they pulled over and one of Sergei's men knocked on the door and handed Sergei a satellite phone. Sergei raised an eyebrow as he handed it over to Harry. "I do believe that this will enable you to contact your people. Do you know what number you need to call?"_

_Harry took the satellite phone and called MI-6. "This is a message for M. Is this Tanner? Nice speaking to you, dog breath. Now, listen up, as I am only saying this once, so you better get this straight. Lord Eris was, in fact, 008. Don't worry about that, she is gone now. All of this was a set up to bring down MI-6 and then eventually the entire magical world in Britain. She had blamed the magical world for the death of her parents at the hands of Voldemort. Yes, you really should do a better job of screening who you hire in the future. And no, we're not coming back. And no, don't waste your time looking for me either."_

_Harry turned off the phone and tossed it back to Sergei. Sergei stared at Harry. "They will track that to me, you know."_

"_No, they won't," laughed Harry. "I think I know you well enough by now."_

_The two men laughed together._

"_Now about this transportation," asked Sergei._

"_Yes," replied Harry as he pulled the women in close. "We need a plane to take us somewhere far away from here, far away from England, preferably somewhere nice and warm and quiet where no one knows who we are. And where no one cares who we are."_

_Sergei laughed again. "That will be arranged right away my young friend."_

* * *

><p>Harry shook his head and he looked up at the two women sitting on the bed with him. "You know, the true story is much better than what I was thinking happened earlier. Thank you both fro removing that thing from my scar. If I had any desire to head back to Barysaw, I'd track down that jeweller for lying to me."<p>

Daphne sneered as she replied, "You could always send a message to Sergei."

Harry shook his head, which he stopped quickly due to the terrible headache he received, "No, I think I owe him too much as it is. I'd rather just leave all that in the past."

Harry then looked around the room and he tilted his head as he rubbed his forehead. "So, in my confused state, I thought we were in Italy, looking over Lake Geneva. But where are we really?"

Hermione and Daphne smiled at him as they took him by the hands and pulled him out of the bed. They walked him towards to balcony of the home as he looked out across the bay of the clear blue waters and the nearby palm trees. Harry turned and smiled at the two beautiful women. "So, we really are here, just the three of us on our own little island in the middle of the South Pacific?"

The two women smiled at him. Hermione then spoke up, "Here you can be out lord, and be as dark or as light as you want."

Daphne added, "It's just the three of us here, with your house elves able to get us anything more we might need. And no, MI-6 and the ministry have no idea where we are?"

"And your parents?" he asked both of them.

The two of them looked at each other for a moment, and then back at Harry, and frowned.

"About that…"

* * *

><p>Back in England at the offices of the DMLE<p>

Draco Malfoy had just heard Robards cursing as he paced down the hall, screaming about Potter disappearing even from MI-6. Draco walked into Harry Potter's old office, and looked around. Hoping to find some final memento from his former nemesis. Thinking quickly he then stopped into Harry's old office, which had been cleaned up since the last time he had been in there. The desk had been repaired, the file cabinet had been emptied.

Draco looked around and sighed. "I guess you're not coming back, are you, scarhead."

As he said the word 'scarhead' there was a magical pop and a bottle of fire whiskey appeared on the desk with a note attached to it. Draco turned and looked over his shoulder. Seeing no one else around and that no one else had noticed this, he reached out and picked up the bottle and looked at the note.

"_Draco,_

_I figured you would be the one to trigger the taboo in my old office by using the old nickname you had for me. Congratulations on receiving this bottle of fire whiskey. Enjoy it while you think of us. Hermione, Daphne and I aren't coming back. Don't even bother looking for us. We're safe, we're fine, and we're having fun. _

_For your own peace of mind, we did find the one who was killing the acquitted Death Eaters, and it was actually a muggle, a former agent from within MI-6, but they probably won't admit to anything. She has been dealt with. She was the one who had also attacked me at my home. The whole case is closed. MI-6 may or may not give details to the DMLE, but I'm not going to worry about that. _

_And if you could do us all a favour, don't even mention this message to anyone, especially Robards. _

_Have fun with your life,_

_H. J. Potter"_

Draco read the note a second time to make sure he wasn't fooling himself. Then he cast a quick incendiary charm on the note, and he grabbed the bottle of fire whiskey and made his way back to his office. It was getting late in the day and he could deal with the rest of his paperwork later. The sound of Robards yelling at some poor intern filled his ears as he left the building, shaking his head, smiling that at least someone might have a happy ending somewhere.


End file.
